SunHydrogen's photoelectrochemical and integrated PV-electrolysis modules reached solar-to-hydrogen efficiency above 10% in testing at Sparc Hydrogen's laboratories and produced more hydrogen under concentrated sunlight. Under a new Technology Collaboration and Intellectual Property Protection Agreement, the companies will advance the modules through laboratory and pilot-scale testing at Sparc Hydrogen's SHARP facility in South Australia, followed by a jointly funded techno-economic assessment of hydrogen cost.

Solar-to-hydrogen efficiency measures how much of the energy in sunlight a device converts into hydrogen. Reaching double digits is a widely recognized milestone for technologies that split water directly with sunlight, and only a small number of groups worldwide have demonstrated it. In the same testing, SunHydrogen's modules produced more hydrogen as the sunlight reaching them was concentrated. That behavior supports higher production rates and is central to the economics of Sparc Hydrogen's concentrated-sunlight reactor.

“Seeing our modules tested above 10% solar-to-hydrogen efficiency, and produce more hydrogen as sunlight is concentrated, is exactly the kind of outside validation our shareholders want to see,” said Tim Young, CEO of SunHydrogen. 

"Concentrated sunlight is a demanding environment for a photoelectrochemical device, so validating efficiency above 10% while running under higher solar flux and producing more hydrogen as light was concentrated is a strong starting point," said Dr. Syed Mubeen, Chief Technology Officer of SunHydrogen. "We look forward to integrating our modules into the Sparc reactor and proving them out at increasing concentration, on-sun at SHARP."

Source: Fuel Cells Works