Nanoptek issued European Patent for Sunlight to Fuel conversion invention

For “Bandgap-shifted Semiconductor Surface and Apparatus” Nanoptek Corp has been issued European Patent No. 2289108 by European Patent Office.

The invention allows sunlight to directly produce hydrogen fuel from water. It can also use sunlight to assist hydrogen production through electrolysis of water. In that mode, only half to a third of the electrical power required by state-of-the-art alkaline or PEM electrolysis, respectively, is used. So the cost to produce hydrogen fuel is lower, and there is less or no co-produced carbon. And because the hydrogen can be produced anywhere that there is sunlight and water, it is easily distributed and scaled.

The Company expects that their LightFuel Hydrogen will be used in Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs). LightFuel Generators will be used to convert intermittent electricity from renewable sources into the on-demand electricity that is required by utilities and consumers, by producing storable hydrogen for stationary fuel cells.

LightFuel President and CEO, John Guerra said that the European Market is very important to them, and not only because of its enormous size.  Europe’s far-sighted and sustained support for renewable energy, particularly welcoming to hydrogen and FCEVs, is remarkably strong in both the public and private sectors; governments and industry are cooperating to bring forth new technologies that will mitigate global warming.