Photoelectrochemical generation of green hydrogen coupled with the upcycling of waste plastics (H2PECUP)

Project Description

Hydrogen produced from water using renewable energy, often called ‘green or renewable hydrogen ’has the potential to play an important role in helping Ireland meet its climate goals. However, the current methods rely on expensive materials, making them costly, and they generate oxygen gas alongside the hydrogen. Producing this oxygen consumes a large portion of the energy input, and if oxygen mixes with hydrogen, it can create safety risks.

This project explores a new approach to overcome these limitations. Instead of producing oxygen, the system replaces this reaction with the upcycling of plastic waste to value-added products. In this way, the process not only generates renewable hydrogen fuel but also helps address plastic pollution in the environment, by converting the plastic waste to higher value-added products, aligned with circular economy principles. 

At the heart of this approach are perovskites. These are widely studied in solar cells and solar panels and are used to absorb light energy. Different types of perovskite-based materials and composites will be designed. They will then be used to absorb light energy and when coupled with electrochemistry they will provide the energy to split water into hydrogen, while also powering chemical reactions that convert plastic waste into useful products.

By carefully tuning these materials, the project aims to create a system that is safer, more cost-effective, and capable of producing hydrogen while simultaneously upcycling plastic waste.