Solar Fuels

Glob­ally, the consump­tion of fossil resources (gas, coal, and oil) has reached unpre­ced­en­ted levels. Their combus­tion for energy produc­tion and use, along with their trans­form­a­tion in indus­tries such as the chem­ical, steel, agro­chem­ical, and cement sectors, contrib­utes to climate change, air, water, and soil pollu­tion, public health issues, loss of biod­iversity, and economic and geopol­it­ical risks.

Trans­itions to a post-fossil era are possible. They require redu­cing the energy intens­ity of our every­day lives. This soci­etal and polit­ical aspect is neces­sary but not addressed in this project. Tech­no­lo­gic­ally, it depends on decar­bon­iz­ing the power sector, elec­tri­fic­a­tion of energy services, clean fuel gener­a­tion, and circu­lar­ity and energy effi­ciency.  With current tech­no­lo­gies, certain indus­tries, such as aviation, steel­mak­ing, or cement produc­tion, cannot easily oper­ate without energy-dense fuels. On the mater­i­als front, petro­chem­istry, agro­chem­istry, and steel­mak­ing util­ise fossil resources as raw mater­i­als. Beyond essen­tial recyc­ling, these altern­at­ives rely on biosourced mater­i­als that present ecolo­gical chal­lenges.

This project, suppor­ted by the Agora programme of the Swiss National Science Found­a­tion, focuses on tech­no­lo­gies that could play a crucial role in redu­cing green­house gas emis­sions and pollu­tion: solar fuels and mater­i­als. These provide an altern­at­ive to fossil fuels, partic­u­larly where elec­tri­fic­a­tion is diffi­cult.

The exhib­i­tion explores the tech­no­lo­gies developed by the LRESE labor­at­ory at EPFL, direc­ted by Sophia Haussener, which create solar fuels and mater­i­als directly using the sun’s rays. Simul­tan­eously, the ZHdK Indus­trial Design­Mas­ter and Research programme led by Lukas Fran­ciszkiewicz together with WINT Design Lab, spec­u­lates on the forms and applic­a­tions of objects that facil­it­ate the stor­age and trans­port of hydro­gen, the simplest solar fuel and solar mater­ial. Were you accus­tomed to the jerry­can and the gas bottle? We invite you to discover the unique char­ac­ter­ist­ics of this gas, espe­cially its low volu­met­ric energy dens­ity, which suggests new forms of stor­age.