Pictured (left - right): Prof Edmond Magner , UL and Cluster PI; Prof Fionn Murtagh, SFI; UCD President, Dr Hugh Brady; Mr John Hartnett, CEO, G24Innovations; Prof Don MacElroy, UCD and Cluster Director; Dr Kevin Tabor, CTO, G24Innovations; Prof John Sheridan, UCD and Cluster PI; Dr Sharon Davin, Cluster Manager.
Ireland’s over dependency on imported fossil fuels could be eliminated by deploying new technologies, currently being developed by UCD researchers, which mimic natural processes such as photosynthesis to produce energy.
The Advanced Biomimetic Materials for Solar Energy Conversion Strategic Research Cluster was awarded €4.74m from Science Foundation Ireland with an additional contribution from industry partners. It offers a unique approach to solar energy conversion by combining expertise in engineering, physics, chemistry and biochemistry from UCD, University of Limerick and Dublin City University, alongside industry participation from Airtricity, Celtic Catalysts SolarPrint Ltd and German company ODB-Tec.
“Sunlight can be trapped using traditional photovoltaic (PV) technology, using silicon-based solar panels and cells, where the PV cell converts solar energy directly to electric power. The Cluster is looking at the development of a technology that could be at the forefront of industry and be very important to Ireland’s economy in the long-term,” says Prof Don MacElroy from the UCD School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering, who is leading the group.
“Our Cluster is investigating potentially cheaper PV materials and cells which are suitable for diffuse sunlight, which is very important in a country like Ireland with cloud cover. Building on research performed in Switzerland, led by Professor Michael Grätzel, we are investigating a new type of PV cell that mimics part of the structure in a plant which is responsible for their natural solar energy conversion process - photosynthesis.”
The group is also researching photoelectrochemical (PEC) materials, which use sunlight to split water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen. The hydrogen can be used as a fuel itself or can produce compounds like methane and other fuels such as methanol, by reacting it with carbon dioxide, which has the added benefit of reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
