{"id":30975,"date":"2023-03-14T15:26:33","date_gmt":"2023-03-14T15:26:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/?p=30975"},"modified":"2025-01-22T13:24:54","modified_gmt":"2025-01-22T13:24:54","slug":"a-leaf-sustainable-fuels-project-achieves-world-record-results","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/a-leaf-sustainable-fuels-project-achieves-world-record-results\/30975\/","title":{"rendered":"A-LEAF sustainable fuels project achieves world-record results"},"content":{"rendered":"
Performed by an international team of researchers from institutions spanning France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland, the A-LEAF project was one of the biggest funded by the EU Commission, receiving \u20ac8m.<\/p>\n
The aim of the endeavour was to pioneer a functioning artificial leaf that utilises sunlight to convert abundant Earth substances into sustainable fuels. The exceptional results signify a landmark step toward future affordable and sustainable energy.<\/p>\n
Professor Jos\u00e9 Ram\u00f3n Gal\u00e1n-Mascar\u00f3s from the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ-CERCA), who coordinated the A-LEAF project, said: \u201cBeyond productivity numbers, our biggest success was to gather a European team of world leaders in their different research fields to work together with a common goal: to demonstrate that an artificial leaf can also work when built exclusively from affordable materials and to deliver a record performance.\u201d<\/p>\n
The A-LEAF project culminated in the development of an autonomous cell that transforms CO2<\/sub>\u00a0and H2<\/sub>O into fuels using sunlight without using any critical raw materials.<\/p>\n The team tested the device in compact electrochemical flow cell architecture using electrodes based on Cu\u2013S and Ni\u2013Fe\u2013Zn oxide supported on gas-diffusion electrodes integrated with an inexpensive Si-based photovoltaic module.<\/p>\n The artificial leaf works at a current density of around 17 mA cm\u22122<\/sup>\u00a0and a full-cell voltage of 2.5 V and is stable for over 24 hours and during on\/off operations. The device yields formate productivity above 190 \u03bcmol h\u22121<\/sup>\u00a0cm\u22122<\/sup>.<\/p>\n The A-LEAF project cell accomplished a solar-to-fuel efficiency of over 10%\u00a0and world-record densities. In addition, due to not employing critical raw materials, the technology can be scaled up easily due to comprising low-cost and abundant materials.<\/p>\n