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Solar Fuels: Vision and Concepts

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Abstract

The world needs new, environmentally friendly and renewable fuels to allow an exchange from fossil fuels. The fuel must be made from cheap and ‘endless’ resources that are available everywhere. The new research area on solar fuels, which are made from solar energy and water, aims to meet this demand. The paper discusses why we need a solar fuel and why electricity is not enough; it proposes solar energy as the major renewable energy source to feed from. The present research strategies, involving direct, semi-direct and indirect approaches to produce solar fuels, are overviewed.

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Acknowledgments

The author’s research in the Swedish Consortium for Artificial Photosynthesis is supported by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, the Swedish Energy Agency, the Swedish Research Council and SOLAR-H2 (FP7 EU no 212508).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Photochemistry and Molecular Science, Department for Chemistry—Ångström Laboratory, Uppsala University, P.O. Box 523, 751 20, Uppsala, Sweden

    Stenbjörn Styring

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Correspondence to Stenbjörn Styring.

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Styring, S. Solar Fuels: Vision and Concepts. AMBIO 41 (Suppl 2), 156–162 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-012-0273-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-012-0273-6

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