Unlocking Ultra-High Performance in Immersed Solar Water Splitting with Optimised Energetics

This research introduces a pioneering approach to solar water splitting technology, utilizing an innovative, highly efficient immersed system. The system incorporates a flexible array of electrochemical and photoelectrochemical cells, powered by high-performance III-V triple-junction cells. Remarkably, this method significantly boosts the solar-to-hydrogen (STH) conversion efficiency, reaching a record 20.7% under 1 sun illumination, employing earth-abundant catalysts operating at ambient temperature. These findings highlight extensive scope for further optimization, including minimizing optical transmission losses, mitigating shading effects, and reducing the overpotential of the electrochemical cells, thereby augmenting the STH efficiency to an estimated 28%. Through a comprehensive techno-economic analysis, a levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) of 8.3 USD kg⁻¹ is estimated, forecasting the potential for a reduction to a competitive 1.8 USD kg⁻¹ with improved efficiency, increased capacity factors, and decreased production costs. A sensitivity analysis emphasizes the significant influence of factors such as III-V cell cost, electrolyzer membrane cost and capacity factor on the LCOH. Overall, this study signifies crucial progress toward a highly efficient and economically viable solar water splitting solution, promising a sustainable route for hydrogen production.