Accolade for Solar-Hydrogen project

PA 134/09 A research project that aims to produce hydrogen on an environmentally friendly and cost-effective basis by using energy from the sun has won a prestigious E.ON research award. The new process of producing 'green' hydrogen uses three abundant and renewable sources — sunlight, biomass and water. It combines solar driven cleavage of water and the degradation of organic compounds avoiding the use of energy derived from fossil fuels and CO2 emissions. This year's E.ON Research Awards topic was on the application of nanotechnology in the energy sector. The awards were given to nine outstanding projects by 11 universities and institutes from six countries — the UK, Sweden, Greece, USA, Australia and Germany. Hydrogen has huge potential as an environmentally clean energy fuel. Associate Professor Gianluca Li Puma, an expert in photocatalysis and photoreaction engineering, in the Energy Technologies Research Institute (ETRI) and in the Faculty of Engineering, is co-coordinating the 920,000 euro project which is being carried out in collaboration with Patras University in Greece.