Solar Energy and Nanotechnology

Basedon:

BasicResearchNeedsforSolarEnergyUtilization:

ReportoftheBasicEnergySciencesWorkshoponSolarEnergyUtilization

Nathan S. Lewis
George L. Argyros Professor of Chemistry
California Institute of Technology
with
George Crabtree, Argonne NL
Arthur Nozik, NREL
Mike Wasielewski, Northwestern
Paul Alivisatos, UC-Berkeley

Solar Energy Utilization

H2O
O2
CO2

sugar

50 - 200 C
space, water
heating

natural
photosynthesis

Solar Electric

Solar Thermal

Solar Fuel

.001 TW PV
$0.30/kWh w/o storage

1.5 TW electricity
$0.03-$0.06/kWh (fossil)

1.4 TW solar fuel (biomass)

0.002 TW

11 TW fossil fuel
(present use)
~ 14 TW additional energy by 2050

500 - 3000 C
heat engines
electricity generation
process heat

2 TW
space and water
heating

Solar Energy Costs

$0.10/Wp

100

$0.20/Wp

$0.50/Wp

Efficiency %

80
60
$1.00/Wp

40
20

$3.50/Wp

100

200

300

400

Cost $/m2

competitive electric power: $1.00/Wp = $0.05/kWh

competitive primary power: $0.20/W p = $0.01/kWh

including cost for storage

module cost only

500 double for balance of system

$0.25-0.50/kW-hr

Solar Energy Conversion

Capture

100 nm-100 m

Conversion
eh+

Storage

Solar Paint

d
Fooling inexpensive particles into behaving as single crystals

)n
(
O

polymer donor
MDMO-PPV

fullerene acceptor
PCBM

OMe
O

inexpensive processing, conformal layers

Interpenetrating Nanostructured Networks

glass
transparent electrode
+

100 nm
metal electrode

Ultra-high Efficiency Solar Cells

lost to
heat

Metal

3V

hot carriers
rich variety of new physical phenomena
understand and implement

Substrate
multiple junctions

Storage: The Need to Produce Fuel

Power Park Concept

Stationary
Generation

Fuel
Production
H2 Production
H2 /Distribution
Reformate
Fuel
Processor
or
Electrolyzer

Fuel
Fuel
Cell

H2 Purification,
Storage,
Storage
Dispensing

Cell

H2

Solar Thermal + Electrolyzer System

Solar-Powered Catalysts for Fuel Formation

chlamydomonas moewusii

10

hydrogenase

photosystem II

oxidation
2 H2O

reduction
4e

CO2

Cat

Cat
O2

2H+ + 2e- H2

4H+

HCOOH
CH3OH
H2, CH4

Solar Land Area Requirements

3 TW

Control of Materials Properties Through Nanoscience

biological

physical

mechanical

Self-assembly of complex structures

O2

H2

Hydrogen from water and sunlight

demonstrated
efficiencies 10-18%
in laboratory

Nanoscience and Solar Energy

TiO2
nanocrystals
adsorbed
dye

liquid
electrolyte

transparent
electrode

conducting glass

manipulation of photons, electrons, and molecules

artificial
photosynthesis

natural
photosynthesis
nanostructured
thermoelectrics

quantum dot solar cells

nanoscale architectures

characterization

theory and modeling

top down lithography

scanning probes
multi-node computer clusters
bottom up self-assembly
electrons, neutrons, x-rays
density functional theory
multi-scale integration smaller length and time scales
10 000 atom assemblies
Solar energy is interdisciplinary nanoscience

Basic Research Needs for Solar Energy

The Sun is a singular solution to our future energy needs
- capacity dwarfs fossil, nuclear, wind . . .
- sunlight delivers more energy in one hour
than the earth uses in one year
- free of greenhouse gases and pollutants
- secure from geo-political constraints
Enormous gap between our tiny use
of solar energy and its immense potential
- Incremental advances in todays technology
will not bridge the gap
- Conceptual breakthroughs are needed that come
only from high risk-high payoff basic research
Interdisciplinary research is required
physics, chemistry, biology, materials, nanoscience
Basic and applied science should couple seamlessly