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Department of Energy Grant to Power UT Research |
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Jon Strunk and Vicki L. Kroll |
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Oct 18, 2004 |
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| Dr. Xunming Deng posed for photos last week with the $2.9 million check from the Department of Energy that was awarded to Midwest Optoelectronics LLC. He co-founded the technology firm in Toledo. |
A $2.9 million grant from the Department of Energy (DOE) to a University of Toledo technology spin-off company will bring in $878,000 to advance research that will use solar energy to generate hydrogen for fuel cells.
Majida M. Mourad, senior adviser to Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham, and Pete Devlin, production research and development team leader of the DOE’s Hydrogen Program, were on campus last week to announce the grant, which was awarded to Midwest Optoelectronics LLC with the University as a subcontractor. Dr. Xunming Deng, a UT professor of physics, his wife, Liwei Xu, and Stan Rubini, a Toledo businessman, founded Midwest Optoelectronics.
“The University of Toledo has major research and education programs in alternative energy that are providing a foundation for an emerging alternative technology cluster in northwest Ohio,” said President Dan Johnson. “Over the past three years, the University brought in over $8 million to support research on photovoltaic systems, fuel cells, hydrogen programs from renewable energy sources, biomass energy and hybrid-electric vehicles.”
Deng said the funding will be used to support research for cost-effective photo-electrochemical production of hydrogen from water and sunlight.
“In this research approach, a triple-junction amorphous silicon-based solar cell is immersed in an electrolyte or water. Under the sunlight, a voltage is generated. When the voltage is sufficiently high, such as 1.6 volts, it splits water and generates hydrogen and oxygen,” Deng explained. “It turns out that the triple-junction amorphous silicon-based solar cells being fabricated at The University of Toledo are ideal for this application.”
This research could be healthy for both the environment and the economy. “When such a technology is fully developed, our nation could have a renewable source of hydrogen to power our fuel-cell vehicles and our economy in the future,” Deng said. “We will have reduced reliance on fossil fuels and reduced emission of greenhouse gasses.”
The Department of Energy’s goal is to have renewable and cost-effective hydrogen production through direct water splitting by 2015.
Deng was quick to point out this research project is a team effort. “In addition to Midwest Optoelectronics and The University of Toledo as major team members, there are two other collaborators, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, which has extensive research programs in photovoltaics and hydrogen, and United Solar Ovonic Corp., which operates a 30 megawatt per year amorphous silicon photovoltaic production plant.”
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