MIT is in a twisted, propeller-capped knot this morning heralding a new discovery it says will unleash a solar revolution. However, the "revolutionary leap" inspired by photosynthesis is not on the glamorous front-end of energy collection, rather, it's related to a simple, highly efficient and inexpensive way to store that energy when the sun doesn't shine. "This is the nirvana of what we've been talking about for years," says Daniel Nocera, MIT neomaxizoomdweebie who with Matthew Kanan developed the unprecedented approach to split water into hydrogen and oxygen gases using the sun's energy. The gases can then be recombined later inside a
fuel cell. The key components to the process are a pair of catalysts (one consists of cobalt metal, phosphate, and an electrode; the other, platinum) which produce the O and H gases at room temperature and in neutral pH water (i.e., tap water). While similar solutions exist for industrial use (primarily), these are very expensive and require specialized environments.
"This is a major discovery with enormous implications for the future prosperity of humankind," said James Barber, a leader in the study of photosynthesis at Imperial College in London. "The importance of their discovery cannot be overstated since it opens up the door for developing new technologies for energy production thus reducing our dependence for fossil fuels and addressing the global climate change problem." Nocera concedes that further engineering is required to commercialize the approach but hopes to see it implemented in household fuel cell systems within the next 10 years. Click through for the video breakdown.
posted August 1st 2008 2:13AM
Another serious misrepresentation: electrolisys is a century-old process, nothing new has been invented. MIT devised an electrod not more efficient and , perhaps, a bit cheaper. All the enormous problems of converting the infrastructures of an oil-based industry to an H-based are still there. Plus the notorious inefficiency of producing and burning Hydrogen. This is a clever scam to keep MIT funding running. If we want to save the planet we need to CONSUME LESS, no miracle will keep us running at this ridicolous place without oil.
See www.theoildrum.com for a serious criticism to Nocera's scam
mz
Nothing new for certain, as far as the hydrogen buffer for sunlight part goes. I had a prototype of this years ago, used an old cranberry juice bottle inverted in water as the H2 reservoir w/ inherent gas guage. Big Duh. IF, however, there has been a REAL development ITO catalysts - which I again doubt as there was ALL kinds of work done years back to ease the energy required to make the electrolysis go, some of which was recently reincarnated in the Nuclear Hydrogen program - then maybe they have something. My $0.02 - don't look to the Ivory Tower for developments. Look in the home garage of an average Joe.
Neomaxizoomdweebie? Didn't Judd Nelson make that word up while filming The Breakfast Club?...
This is not an MIT discovery!, Justin Sutton of the Interstate Traveler Company has had this technology patented for years, he has been developing this method of storage since 1995. You can see the State Of Michigan, 2003 House Resolution 23 and the 2003 Senate Resolution 89 at the "http://www.interstatetraveler.us" web site that proclaims the
Interstate Traveler as the "State Of Michigan's Mass Transportation Method Of Choice". This solar/hydrogen technology was the basis for his non-solar hours power storage then.
Whats even worse is Mr. Sutton approached the professors at MIT in a few years back for their input and was brushed off. Now they claim they have discovered a "New Way" to store the suns energy. There is enough people out here that know this technology was developed by Justin E. Sutton and The Interstate Traveler Company. MIT won't get away with this bogus claim that this is their discovery. Shame on MIT, they knew about this years ago.
Any researcher looking into solar powered electrolysis should have found our website and public records and press releases in about five minutes.
The HyRail or Hydrogen Super Highway or Interstate Traveler Project has been around for years and it is known to the general public that we have planned to use solar power to make electrolytic hydrogen as early as 2001.
The thing which is more important is the integration of systems which I and the Interstate Traveler Co. LLC have mapped out as a network of public and private rail and conduit supporting a top covering of solar panels to power not only the operations of the conduit network and the magnetic levitation transportation system, also acts as a net energy producer with the ability to buffer energy and store energy en-mass across the national landscape while mitigating sewerage, producing clean water, hydrogen, oxygen, etc.
I began working on a system for national rapid transit in 1995, I began communication publicly in 2001 publishing press releases and technical documents with the SBA in 2002. Beginning in 2001 my Company made presentations to 13 of the 14 Metropolitan Planning Organizations, labor unions, city councils, township boards, County officials, international trade organizations like the Organization of American States and UNESCO, civic groups like the Rotary Club and others and have been in examined by newspapers, on radio programs and television news in Grand Rapids Michigan. Myself and others have made several presentations at US DOE head quarters, first with then Secretary of Energy Spenser Abraham, then with the Chief Hydrogen Scientist under Secretary Bodman.
Here is a chronology:
http://www.interstatetraveler.us/news.htm
Here are some of our reference letters:
http://www.interstatetraveler.us/reference_letters.htm
Certainly the most significant recognition of my life’s work and the efforts of the Interstate Traveler Company to build this system includes both the House and Senate Resolutions Unanimously Adopted by the Michigan Legislature in 2003 and the introduction into the VISTA Business Incubation program with the American Computer Science Association, which after due examination, presented the Sir Isaac Newton Award for Innovation. The House and Senate Resolutions and the multitude of documents published by the ACSA, my company, newspapers and other sources have all clearly define the solar powered electrolytic production of as basis of the Hydrogen Super Highway to run on solar power during the day and at night.
The repose of the MIT professors who profess their "Revolutionary Leap" as if it were original and completely new to Science is even more sophomoric in consideration of the years of effort of the thousands of scientist working for government laboratories across the country for decades. Heck, even the even NASA was using electrolyzes and fuel cells in the various space programs before I was born in 1968. The Gemini program used hydrogen fuel cells for electricity and the Apollo program used fuel cells for electricity and the production of drinking water.
Just for fun, I will share with you my personal library of historic scientists that I have listed on a single webpage listed in birth order. I have studied the works of all of these scientist, some more than others. I am sure you will enjoy it:
http://www.interstatetraveler.us/Reference-Bibliography/Scientific_Giants_in_history.htm
Also, here is a link to our bibliography of reference materials which have been compiled as a part of our collective business case.
http://www.interstatetraveler.us/Reference-Bibliography/ITC-Library.htm
I applaud the efforts of MIT's Daniel Nocera, a.k.a "neomaxizoomdweebie" and Mr. Matthew Kanan who claim to have developed the "unprecedented" approach to split water into hydrogen and oxygen gases using the sun's energy, and that of James Barber, leader in the study of photosynthesis at Imperial College in London for recognizing their efforts, yet it is quite clear with even a single hour of research on the Internet the claims of "unprecedented" would be mitigated.
All I can say is to “Keep up the good work fellas”, but check your references before you make claims of “Unprecedented”. Perhaps there is some originality in their choice of elements to be used as electrodes for the electrolyzer, but that is a far cry from claiming originality for solar powered hydrogen production and then using the hydrogen as a battery to normalize solar power over time.
I almost wrote a letter about it back when they first published, but I am sure they have been picked on a-plenty since they published just over 60 days ago. Better late than never.
Sincerely,
Justin Sutton
Founder and Managing Partner
Interstate Traveler Company, LLC
Michigan