Innovations Today for the Renewable Energy Markets

Of Tomorrow

New Water Oxidation Catalysts and HighSurface Area Transparent Electrodes

Presented by: Brian Lamb

Seeds of Innovation Presentation

November 4th, 2010

Inventors- Thomas J. Meyer, Zuofeng Chen, Javier Concepcion, Jonah Wesley Jurss, Joseph L. Templeton, Paul Hoertz

New Technology Meeting the Needs of the Marketplace

1.) Water Oxidation Catalysts

Patented ruthenium and osmium complexes for high turnover splitting of water into its component parts

2.) NanoITO electrodes Nanoparticle-derived high surface area transparent electrodes

2H2O O2 + 4H+ + 4e-

Half Reaction: Water splitting

Development New Ruthenium/Osmium-based catalysts for splitting water

Definition Catalysts are reagents that enable chemical reactions to occur that otherwise would not (or much more slowly) in the absence of catalyst.

New Technology to Meet the Demands of the Renewable Energy Market

Water Oxidation Catalysts

New Technology to Meet the Demands of the Renewable Energy Market

Water Oxidation Catalysts

Key Differentiators

Water is a near infinite source of electrons for producing hydrogen, methane

Robust behavior, faster turnovers, higher current and energy efficiency

Catalyzes reaction in a wide pH range

Also useful for water treatment devices and microgeneration of oxygen in medical devices.

Layered conductive ITO nanoparticles

Flat or flexible transparent surface

Ideal electrode for photovoltaic devices or electrochomic displays- optically transparent,high surface area

New Technology to Meet the Demands of the Renewable Energy Market

NanoITO

New Technology to Meet the Demands of the Renewable Energy Market

NanoITO

Key Differentiators

Higher loading efficiencies (10,000x) of catalysts or other electrochemical species

Useful as electrochromic materials or flat-panel displays for greater color contrast

High surface area and optically transparent: ideal for incorporation into photovoltaic devices

Market Applications for New Technology in Renewable Energy

Acquisition Storage

Energy Conversion

Consumption

The world’s ability to harness renewableresources depends heavily on technology to

efficiently capture the energy,

Energy must be stored in a readily accessible form such as batteries, fuels

H2O

2H2O2 + 4H+ + 4e-

Hydrogen Reduction

Potential Market- Energy Storage for Solar Fuels

Hydrogen powereddevices

Reducing costs of electrolysis will drivefuel production markets

Current State of Technology

Fast turnovers (~0.027/s) on NanoITO

Energy efficient water oxidation occurs at 1.75V

Very high current efficiency

Tolerates a wide pH range

Catalyst is fast and simply immobilized to electrode surfaces

Conclusions and Expected Future Developments

Additional applications for the water oxidation catalyst are being investigated

Catalytic cycle for acquiring solar energy Multiple-metal complex catalysis

NanoITO will be further tested in photovoltaics

Technologies will be able to address the needs of the energy market, current revenues of $700 million/day

Thank you!