SolSTEP
SolSTEP
Fast Facts about the Project
Project Leader:
Dr. rer. nat. Jacob Schneidewind
Organization:
Friedrich Schiller University Jena
Duration:
01.01.2024 – 31.12.2029
Funding Volume:
2.815.598 €
Grant Agreement Number:
03SF0729
In a Nutshell
The SolSTEP project is dedicated to the development of materials to produce green hydrogen directly from sunlight and water. An innovative approach, the two-step reaction sequence, enables the efficient use of solar energy. Together with a scalable process, this creates the basis for providing green hydrogen for industrial processes and replacing fossil fuels.
Project Details
Green hydrogen directly from sunlight and water in bag reactors
Green hydrogen is a key component of the energy transition, enabling the defossilization of industrial processes and mobility. To date, it has primarily been produced via electrolysis using renewable electricity. The aim of SINATRA: SolSTEP is to develop innovative materials – known as photocatalysts – that enable the direct use of sunlight to produce hydrogen. This avoids competition for renewable electricity and diversifies the ways in which solar energy is used. In addition, the direct use of sunlight to produce hydrogen can be implemented as a resource-saving process and further improve the sustainability of green hydrogen. The aim is to produce hydrogen in low-cost bag reactors filled with a mixture of photocatalyst and water. This scalable concept could provide hydrogen for industry in the future and thus make an important contribution to a climate-neutral energy economy.
Carbon nitrides and conjugated polymers for the effective use of sunlight
The production of hydrogen from water can be divided into two processes: Water is oxidized to oxygen, releasing protons and electrons. These protons and electrons are then combined to form hydrogen. Existing photocatalysts use different components to absorb sunlight and then drive these two processes. However, this leads to low efficiencies as energy is lost during transport between the components. In SINATRA: SolSTEP, photocatalysts are being developed in which light absorption, formation of oxygen and formation of hydrogen take place in one place. This is made possible by two reaction steps: In the first step, light is absorbed by the photocatalyst, which leads to the oxidation of water to oxygen. The protons and electrons are temporarily stored at the site where the reaction took place. In the second step, the photocatalyst then absorbs light again, causing the protons and electrons to combine to form hydrogen, which is released.
In the project, photocatalysts based on carbon nitrides and conjugated polymers are used to realize this two-step sequence. Both materials consist of readily available raw materials (carbon and nitrogen) to enable a resource-saving process. The use of these catalysts in bag reactors then enables the scalable production of hydrogen.
Spin-off for rapid commercialization
With the help of a laboratory prototype, the basis for the commercial application of photocatalysts for the production of hydrogen is to be laid. The intention is to advance commercialization, e.g, within the framework of a suitable spin-off. In order to implement the research and development work effectively, there are collaborations with international research groups, particularly in the USA (funded by the Department of Energy) and strategic industrial partners such as 3M, H2APEX and HyJack.
The core work takes place within the junior research group SINATRA: SolSTEP at the Center for Energy and Environmental Chemistry Jena (CEEC Jena) at Friedrich Schiller University Jena. It consists of an interdisciplinary team of scientists with backgrounds in materials science, organic and inorganic chemistry and catalysis.
