Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, (MIT) have developed a way of storing solar energy for use when the sun isn’t shining.

In one hour, enough sunlight strikes the Earth to provide the entire planet’s energy needs for one year. However, solar power is usually a day-time only energy source because storing extra solar energy for later is prohibitively and grossly inefficient.

Drawing on the process of photosynthesis, Henry Dreyfus Professor of Energy at MIT, Daniel Nocera, and Matthew Kanan, a postdoctoral fellow in Nocera’s lab, have developed a process that will allow the sun’s energy to be used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen gases. Later, the oxygen and hydrogen can be recombined inside a fuel cell, creating carbon-free electricity to power homes, or electric cars, day or night.

The key component of the process is a new catalyst. Working at room temperature this new catalyst produces oxygen gas from water. While another catalyst produces valuable hydrogen gas. The new catalyst consists of cobalt metal, phosphate and an electrode, placed in water. When electricity – whether from a photovoltaic cell, a wind turbine, or any other source – runs through the electrode, the cobalt and phosphate for thin film on the electrode, and oxygen gas is produced.

James Barber, the Ernst Chain professor or Biochemistry, who had no involvement in the project described the findings as a ‘giant leap’ towards generating clean, carbon-free energy on a massive scale.”

He said: “This is a major discovery with enormous implications for the future prosperity of humankind.

“The importance of their discovery can not be overstated since it opens up the door for developing new technologies for energy production thus reducing our dependence for fossil fuels and addressing the global climate change problem.