A team of scientists from the University of Reading have made major advancements in finding a way to skip the energy-consuming process of producing hydrogen. Inspired by nature, they have theoretically designed a new material that can split water into hydrogen by imitating the way plants absorb energy from the sun. As well as hydrogen, the design could also be able to take carbon dioxide out of the air and turn it into methanol, a biofuel. Although more research is needed, this design could lead to an inexpensive and sustainable way to convert solar energy into hydrogen, help powering the fuel-cell cars of the near future.
