One of the most important alternative sources of energy is photovoltaic. Solar energy, growing everywhere (especially in China) is available in abundance and 100% renewable.
The problem that has always plagued solar energy researchers is not its availability and renewability, but the possibility of storing it for a long time in a battery. This has until now prevented it from being used for long-term solutions.
A research team from Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden has developed a special type of fuel capable of harnessing and storing the sun's energy for up to 18 years. It took almost a year of development and is now providing the first extraordinary results: they called it solar thermal fuel.
In short words? Solar gasoline.
What is it about
Fuel is essentially a liquid molecule that "traps" thesolar power to use it later. Its main components are hydrogen and nitrogen: when heated, the molecules change density and act as accumulators of a battery, conserving the collected energy.
The peculiarity is that upon subsequent cooling (to room temperature) the fuel molecules continue to hold onto the solar energy tightly, transforming into isomers.
Whenever it is necessary to use the accumulated energy, the fuel is passed through a simple catalyst capable of converting it into its original form and making it available for use.
A sort of non-corrosive "battery fluid", a carrier that once "discharged" after passing through the catalyst can be recycled immediately. Nothing is burned like traditional fuels.
It seems to me an absolutely brilliant and extraordinary thing.
The development of “solar petrol” is still in the experimental phase. The first results (which were also stunning) have so far been obtained in the laboratory.
