Ricercatori del Politecnico federale di Losanna e del Centro svizzero di elettronica e microtecnica di Neuchâtel hanno ideato un innovativo meccanismo di stoccaggio dell'energia solare sotto forma di idrogeno. Gli specialisti, in pratica, hanno usato celle solari in commercio e messo a punto un dispositivo in grado di produrre combustibile senza dover impiegare tecnologie troppo onerose.
Secondo quanto reso noto dall'ateneo il prototipo, ideato in Svizzera, si compone di tre celle solari al silicio di ultima generazione, collegate a un sistema di elettrolisi. Il dispositivo raggiunge un tasso di conversione dell'energia solare in idrogeno del 14,2%, ed è stato impiegato per oltre 100 ore. Si tratta di un record mondiale di redditività, ma anche di produzione di idrogeno senza impiego di materiali rari e costosi.
"Se installassimo 12-14 metri quadri di celle fotovoltaiche, sarebbe possibile stoccare in un anno abbastanza idrogeno per percorrere 10'000 chilometri alla guida di un automobile a idrogeno", sottolinea uno dei ricercatori coinvolti nel progetto.
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