Solar electrolysis of water to separate hydrogen Energy conversion rate up to 14%

Recently, a team of researchers in Germany and the United States found that in one of the artificial photosynthesis technologies "STH", which separates hydrogen by solar electrolysis of water, the energy conversion efficiency of solar energy into hydrogen has reached 14%, and its durability is more than
40 hours.

STH is a technology
that uses the same components as solar cells to electrolyze water instead of electricity to generate H2.
The previous conversion efficiency was 12.
4% achieved 17 years ago, with a durability of less than 24 hours
.
In general, the conversion efficiency and durability of STH have a trade-off relationship, and it is not easy to improve both at the same time
.
If the conversion efficiency reaches more than 15% and the durability reaches more than 1,000 hours, it is expected to produce hydrogen at a cost of less than 4 US dollars / kg, and its benefits may exceed that of hydrogen production from fossil
fuels.

The solar hydrogen production is a double-junction STH element composed of III.
-V group compounds, but the initial durability is only a few seconds
.
It is said that after one year of improvement, the study achieved a high conversion efficiency of 14% and achieved durability
of more than 40 hours.