‘Floating Leaf’ Harnesses Ocean & Sun Power To Make Fuel For Ships

As land space becomes even more scarce, energy-harvesting farms have taken to the sea.

A new experiment, in particular, is looking to ride the wave of sustainability, literally, as an “artificial leaf” by Cambridge University harnesses the power of the ocean and the sun. The research was published in the Nature journal.

The scientists employed a platinum catalyst to install light-absorbing perovskite layers onto thin, stretchable sheets of polyester coated in indium tin oxide in order to achieve this. These were then wrapped with an incredibly thin coat of water-repellent compounds to safeguard the equipment.

The result is a device of only one millimeter in thickness, ready to brave the rough oceans.

To build the energy-harvesting ‘leaf’, the team of researchers used a type of solar panel with photovoltaic cells. This differs slightly from the regular solar panels you can get for your house, and instead contain solar fuel cells.

Solar fuel cells turn energy from the sun into chemical reactions needed for producing fuel. This particular apparatus produces ‘syngas’, a fuel needed to create chemicals and pharmaceuticals. 

The leaf can split water into hydrogen and oxygen or even reduce CO2 in syngas. The team then took the leaf and set it out to sail around the River Cam.

According to the scientists, this is the first time that clean fuel has been generated on water. If scaled up, it could significantly help the shipping industry reduce its reliance on fossil fuels.

[via Euronews and New Atlas, images via Virgil Andrei/Cambridge University via EurekAlert]