SolarH2
"Water will be the coal of the future.”
Jules Verne (The Mysterious Island, 1870)
The Priority Program (PP) 1613 “Fuels Produced Regeneratively Through Light-Driven Water Splitting: Clarification of the Elemental Processes Involved and Prospects for Implementation in Technological Concepts” (Short title: SolarH2) was established by the DFG (German Research Foundation) in 2011, following the proposal of the TU Darmstadt and other German research institutions.
In this context, sixteen research projects are being funded by the DFG, as well as a coordinator project, that aims to integrate the individual projects and thereby organize potential implementation efforts. The program is now in its second funding period which lasts from October 2015 till September 2018.
The priority program SolarH2 is targeted on a merging of distinct research approaches and their results involving different disciplines and expertise as
- the preparation of photoactive semiconductors and adapted device structures
- synthesis and characterization of electro catalysts
- the fundamental analysis of the involved elementary processes and their theoretical simulation
A program committee has been established from experts, which represent the different duties, responsibilities and knowledge areas of the PP. This committee supports the coordinator in the definition and realization of cooperative research actions within the PP. Regular workshops, seminars and an active internet platform shall secure the exchange of information. Intensive collaboration shall be supported by short-term cooperation projects. The cooperation and exchange of scientists with internationally designated partners will be supported to establish an international network.