Technology:
Focusing on the next stage of
photovoltaic cells, Panasonic will develop a technology to generate hydrogen at
home using the photocatalyst technology. The existing photocatalyst technology works
only under ultraviolet light, and sunlight contains only a small amount of
ultraviolet light. The company developed photocatalyst of the niobium system,
and it has already confirmed that the self-developed photocatalyst can generate
hydrogen responding to the visible light that has the largest amount of energy
among sunlight.
Panasonic’s panel equipment to generate hydrogen
direcdty form natural energy
Panasonic will conduct research to
increase the generation efficiency of hydrogen in alliance with New Energy and
Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) and Kyoto University. Niobium is abundant and relatively free from price fluctuation as
compared with silicone, and its supply is more stable than silicone. Besides, the
mechanism to generate hydrogen is simple, opening the way to generate hydrogen at
low cost. The company plans to generate sufficient amount of hydrogen to supply
energy for household use, excluding energy for vehicle, by hydrogen alone using
panels on the house roof. Panasonic wishes to put this
technology into practical use by 2030.
Toshiba’s Hydrogen Energy Research and
Development Center
