Hypersolar is an interesting and thought-provoking solar company, whose main goal is to bring clean energy to the masses through the clever and sometimes ingenious use of science and technology. Though a relatively small name in the big world of solar energy (I hadn’t heard of them until now), they harbour some big ideas and have introduced some powerful technology into the mix.
They initially hit the industry running with their creation of a Hypersolar ‘layer’ for solar panels, which could halve the amount of individual solar cells needed, whilst upping their output by an impressive 400%. This layer would replace the traditional glass screen atop the cells, and would focus solar radiation onto rows of cells, therefore intensifying the light and producing extra juice. A neat invention to say the least, although I haven’t heard much else about the product.
This time round, they’ve decided to combine their solar expertise with an area of energy production which I, and no doubt many others, did really not expect. They hope that, with their new solar cell systems, they can imitate nature and the beautiful complexity of photosynthesis in order to create ‘clean’ and ‘renewable’ natural gas. Clean I hear you say, that ain’t right.
By mimicing plants, the team plans to split water into its component parts, hydrogen and oxygen. This hydrogen is then combined with carbon dioxide, presumably they hope from the atmosphere itself, to create methane, a prime constituent of natural gas. As this carbon is from the air around us, not only does it suck CO2 from our dirty atmosphere, it then uses this to produce more fuel for us to burn. As it only requires water alongside this, it can be labelled renewable by the company.
The team also highlight that they believe the natural gas future is a very real one, but that the environmental faults of extracting and creating it is both dirty and expensive. Therefore this technology kills two birds with one stone, making the environment happier whilst still allowing a less radical switch to a NG dominated economy.
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