Batteries for a laptop are Lithium ion, which tend to get hot. Using high-energy-density batteries in a Hybrid requires a cooling system.

Eventually, the batteries are so large that the energy to cool them offsets their storage capabilities.

This is low-energy-density, but at room temperatures. Conceivably, you could have such a storage facility that is the size of swimming pool — or larger.

Common metals, in fact, there are so many revolutionary positives I won’t attempt any more at this time.

This breakthrough will allow the the wholesale creation of water, cheap energy, and reduce the infrastructure to distribute that energy. It will, replace oil altogether.

It works by allowing water to be separated into hydrogen and Oxygen, cheaply and with little effort.

Plants, as you know, take in water, and using only sunlight, separate the water into hydrogen and oxygen. By studying plants, the Norcea Group has developed a method, using cobalt metal, a relatively abundant metal, as a catalyst, to accomplish something similar to the plant mechanics.

The result is low energy separation of the hydrogen and oxygen atoms from water. The applications can be developed and implemented within the next 10 years, enabling everyone to manufacture their own electricity at home, no need of electrical plants for residential users.

If you extend this innovation and include the breakthroughs that are occurring in genetics, we are looking at a future where we grow our own food, make our own electricity, fresh water, and transportation fuel, in our home. This will make Oil become so cheap, it might not be practical, from a business perspective to pull it out of the ground.

It is the future and a near future at that.

Pure H2O is a non-conductor. It is the impurities in water that allow it to conduct electricity and in the electrolysis process, the common “impurity” has been introduced sulphuric acid, the same stuff as is in your car battery. The metal at one electrode is dissolved during when a current is supplied and that metal is redeposited at the other electrode.

For purposes of electroplating this is wonderful. For the purpose of splitting water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen, it’s not. So if someone (Prof. Nocera for instance) can come up with less expensive and longer lasting electrodes and a non-corrosive catalyst, the whole process moves towards greater (if not complete) efficiancy.

Perhaps this could have been explained a little better in the article. It sounds like the Professor is claiming to have invented electolysis. He didn’t, those pesky Iranians (Persians that is,) did a two or three millenia ago.

Watch the video. In a nutshell, hydrogen is a great clean way to store energy (mix with oxygen and get electricity + H2O) BUT the problem has been getting the hydrogen. This guy claims he can get the hydrogen really easily and cheaply. If it’s true it’s a huge breakthrough.

Electrolysis = using electricity to break water into hydrogen and oxygen.

First of all I don’t understand why you need two different catalyst coated electrodes; one cobalt/phosphate for the oxygen and a different platinum one for the hydrogen…isnt that like using two different knives to cut a piece of bread in half? One knife should suffice, right?

Photosynthesis = plant process that uses sunlight, carbon and water to produce sugar/starch. In photosynthesis the sugar/starch is the energy store.

Breaking up water is fairly easy (albiet not energy efficient) the problem is storing the hydrogen and oxygen for later use…isn’t it?

Maybe I’m simply confused by the headline, which is about storing energy. The article is about using cobalt as a catalyst for breaking up water via electrolysis. I wish the writer said if this is cheaper or more efficient than alternatives, but in any event where is the storage?

I am a huge believer in solar and want to see it common-place in ten years…but for this particular “breakthough” where’s the beef?