On-Farm Conversion of Solar Energy, Water, and Carbon Dioxide to Hydrocarbon Fuel

Fossil fuels are the dominant energy source in the agriculture sector, comprising a large fraction of farming operational expenditures and emitting CO2 as a greenhouse gas. Despite recent market penetration, renewable energy adoption on farms remains low. Large capital costs, intermittency, and immobility of renewable energy prevents adoption on small and mid-size farms. A particularly detrimental limitation is that electricity produced by solar photovoltaics cannot power fuel-consuming devices (i.e., tractors, furnaces, generators). As an alternative, solar fuels represent a broad array of chemical compounds produced when incident solar energy drives a set of chemical reactions that convert water and CO2 to storable and transportable fuels. Solar-to-fuel generation can be performed in a decentralized fashion, offering substantial opportunity for small and mid-size farms to generate their own fuels onsite.To increase renewable energy utilization and reduce CO2 emissions on small and mid-sized farms, Giner will design an intermediate-temperature device, called a Solid Oxide Photoelectrochemical Cell (SOPC), which converts sunlight, waste CO2, and H2O into combustible hydrocarbon fuel. The SOPC will offer higher efficiencies, conversions, production rates, and current densities than incumbent technologies. Giner's SOPC will be housed in a solar concentrator, which will focus photons onto the SOPC and heat the device. The product fuel (i.e., synthetic natural gas or diesel) will be compatible with typical farming applications. This technology will also reduce fuel consumption costs for small and mid-size farms, offering a financial incentive to implement renewable energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.