The 2022 solar fuels roadmap
Journal of Physics D Applied Physics, vol. 55, pp. 323003
Abstract
Abstract Renewable fuel generation is essential for a low carbon footprint economy. Thus, over the last five decades, a significant effort has been dedicated towards increasing the performance of solar fuels generating devices. Specifically, the solar to hydrogen efficiency of photoelectrochemical cells has progressed steadily towards its fundamental limit, and the faradaic efficiency towards valuable products in CO 2 reduction systems has increased dramatically. However, there are still numerous scientific and engineering challenges that must be overcame in order to turn solar fuels into a viable technology. At the electrode and device level, the conversion efficiency, stability and products selectivity must be increased significantly. Meanwhile, these performance metrics must be maintained when scaling up devices and systems while maintaining an acceptable cost and carbon footprint. This roadmap surveys different aspects of this endeavor: system benchmarking, device scaling, various approaches for photoelectrodes design, materials discovery, and catalysis. Each of the sections in the roadmap focuses on a single topic, discussing the state of the art, the key challenges and advancements required to meet them. The roadmap can be used as a guide for researchers and funding agencies highlighting the most pressing needs of the field.
Authors 41
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Gideon Segev corresponding
Affiliation as printed
Department of Physical Electronics, Faculty of Engineering, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
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Technical University of Denmark
Affiliation as printed
Department of Physics, Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
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Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Affiliation as printed
Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, United States of America
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Nanyang Technological University
Affiliation as printed
School of Material Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
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National Cheng Kung University
Affiliation as printed
Department of Materials Science and Technology, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan
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National Laboratory of the Rockies
Affiliation as printed
National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 15013 Denver West Parkway, Golden, CO 80401, United States of America
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California Institute of Technology
Affiliation as printed
Department of Applied Physics and Material Science, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, United States of America
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Affiliation as printed
Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge, CB2 1EW, United Kingdom
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Chemistry-Ångström Laboratories, Uppsala University, Box 523, SE75120 Uppsala, Sweden
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, 12 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, United States of America
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Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Affiliation as printed
Energy Conversion Group, Energy Technologies Area, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States of America
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Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Affiliation as printed
Chemical Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States of America
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Shinshu University · Japan Science and Technology Agency
Affiliation as printed
JST-PRESTO, 4-17-1 Wakasato, Nagano-shi, Nagano 380-8553, Japan, Japan
Research Initiative for Supra-Materials, Interdisciplinary Cluster for Cutting Edge Research, Shinshu University, 4-17-1 Wakasato, Nagano-shi, Nagano 380-8553, Japan
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University of California, Davis
Affiliation as printed
Department of Chemistry, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA 95616, United States of America
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Shinshu University · The University of Tokyo
Affiliation as printed
Office of University Professors, The University of Tokyo, 2-11-16 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan
Research Initiative for Supra-Materials, Interdisciplinary Cluster for Cutting Edge Research, Shinshu University, 4-17-1 Wakasato, Nagano-shi, Nagano 380-8553, Japan
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Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie
Affiliation as printed
Institute for Solar Fuels, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH, Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1, 14109 Berlin, Germany
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École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Affiliation as printed
Laboratory of Renewable Energy Science and Engineering, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Station 9, Lausanne 1015, Switzerland
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Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Affiliation as printed
Chemical Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States of America
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University of California, Irvine
Affiliation as printed
Department of Chemistry, Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Department of Materials Science & Engineering, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, United States of America
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Materials Science & Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, United States of America
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Technische Universität Ilmenau
Affiliation as printed
Fundamentals of Energy Materials, Institute of Physics, Technische Universität Ilmenau, Ilmenau, Thuringia, 98693, Germany
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, United States of America
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California Institute of Technology
Affiliation as printed
Thomas J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, United States of America
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California Institute of Technology
Affiliation as printed
Division of Engineering and Applied Science and Liquid Sunlight Alliance, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91024, United States of America
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Brookhaven National Laboratory
Affiliation as printed
Chemistry Division, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY, 11973, United States of America
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Technical University of Munich
Affiliation as printed
Walter Schottky Institute and Physics Department, Technische Universität München, 85748 Garching, Germany
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University of Wisconsin–Madison
Affiliation as printed
Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, United States of America
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Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology
Affiliation as printed
Department of Energy Engineering, School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Chemistry, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1-NE-1, Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan
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Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory · University of California, Berkeley
Affiliation as printed
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States of America
Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States of America
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Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Affiliation as printed
Chemical Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States of America
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Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory · University of California, Berkeley
Affiliation as printed
Chemical Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States of America
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States of America
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the Oregon Center for Electrochemistry, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, United States of America
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Chemistry,, University of Oxford, Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QR, United Kingdom
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Chemical System Engineering, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan
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Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives · Laboratoire de Chimie et Biologie des Métaux
Affiliation as printed
Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, CEA, IRIG, Laboratoire de Chimie et Biologie des Métaux, 17 rue des Martyrs, Grenoble, Cedex, F-38054, France
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R.W. Napier Aachen
Affiliation as printed
Leiden Institute of Chemistry, Leiden University, PO Box 9502, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands
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Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society
Affiliation as printed
Department of Interface Science, Fritz-Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society, Faradayweg 4-6, Berlin 14195, Germany
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Marc T. M. Koper Aachen
Affiliation as printed
Leiden Institute of Chemistry, Leiden University, PO Box 9502, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands
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Roel van de Krol corresponding
Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie · Technische Universität Berlin
Affiliation as printed
Institut für Chemie, Technische Universität Berlin, Straße des 17. Juni 124, 10623 Berlin, Germany
Institute for Solar Fuels, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH, Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1, 14109 Berlin, Germany
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Frances A. Houle corresponding
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Affiliation as printed
Chemical Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States of America
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