{"id":383069,"date":"2026-06-16T05:01:48","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T03:01:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prostartup.it\/battery-free-artificial-photosynthesis-turns-sunlight-water-and-co2-into-fuel\/"},"modified":"2026-06-16T05:01:48","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T03:01:48","slug":"battery-free-artificial-photosynthesis-turns-sunlight-water-and-co2-into-fuel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prostartup.it\/ru\/battery-free-artificial-photosynthesis-turns-sunlight-water-and-co2-into-fuel\/","title":{"rendered":"Battery-Free Artificial Photosynthesis Turns Sunlight, Water, and CO2 Into Fuel"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"Artificial
The artificial photosynthesis system produces formic acid from carbon dioxide and water. The right image shows the group\u2019s unique electrolyzer. Credit: Osaka Metropolitan University<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A self-regulating artificial photosynthesis system makes solar fuel without batteries, offering a simpler and potentially cheaper path to clean energy storage.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Researchers at Osaka Metropolitan University have created a new artificial photosynthesis system that can produce solar fuel more consistently while eliminating the need for battery-based control systems. The advance comes from incorporating a self-regulating chemical component directly into the electrolyzer, removing one of the more costly elements commonly used in these technologies.<\/p>\n

Like natural photosynthesis in plants, artificial photosynthesis uses sunlight to transform water and carbon dioxide into useful fuels. One example is formic acid, a chemical that can store energy for later use.<\/p>\n

How Artificial Photosynthesis Produces Fuel<\/h4>\n

A key part of the process is the electrolyzer. This device converts electricity generated by solar cells into chemical energy, allowing fuel such as formic acid to be produced and stored.<\/p>\n

One challenge is maintaining efficient operation as sunlight levels rise and fall throughout the day. To address this, many artificial photosynthesis systems rely on Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT), a control method that continually adjusts voltage and current so solar cells can operate at maximum efficiency.<\/p>\n

However, MPPT systems often require batteries and additional electronic components to stabilize energy flow. While effective, these extra parts add both cost and complexity.<\/p>\n

Self-Regulating Electrolyzer Eliminates Batteries<\/h4>\n

To simplify the system, a research team led by Associate Professor Yasuo Matsubara and Professor Yutaka Amao at the Research Center for Artificial Photosynthesis at Osaka Metropolitan University, working with Iida Group Holdings Co., Ltd, redesigned the electrolyzer using a special solid electrolyte.<\/p>\n

In the new design, the electrolyzer performs the MPPT function on its own, removing the need for batteries and external control hardware.<\/p>\n

Rather than relying on separate electronics, converters, and batteries to optimize performance, the electrolyzer automatically adjusts its electrical characteristics by varying its thermal and impedance properties.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs sunlight increases, the electrolyzer naturally heats up. The system is designed so that this warming causes the electrical resistance to drop, allowing electricity to flow more freely,\u201d Professor Amao explained. \u201cThis makes the system automatically adjust its electrical behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis self-regulating behavior helps keep fuel production more stable throughout the day and automates the system, while reducing dependence on batteries and costly external components,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Stable Solar Fuel Production in Real Sunlight<\/h4>\n

When researchers tested a prototype incorporating the technology, it successfully and consistently produced formic acid from water and CO2 under real outdoor sunlight, even when light levels changed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were confident that it would be successful, as we previously showcased this research at the \u2018Joint Pavilion Iida Group \u00d7 Osaka Metropolitan University\u2019 exhibition as part of the Osaka Kansai Expo 2025,\u201d Professor Matsubara said. \u201cIt successfully generated enough formic acid to power a miniature diorama in the pavilion, showing its potential as an efficient artificial photosynthesis system that could potentially be used to charge applications in our homes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The findings were published in the journal EES Solar<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Reference: \u201cChemical maximum-power-point tracking system for stabilized liquid solar-fuel production\u201d by Yasuo Matsubara, Hinako Kawakami, Yasuhito Kajita and Yutaka Amao, 20 March 2026, EES Solar<\/i>.
DOI: 10.1039\/D5EL00177C<\/p>\n

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The artificial photosynthesis system produces formic acid from carbon dioxide and water. The right image shows the group\u2019s unique electrolyzer. Credit: Osaka Metropolitan University A<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":383070,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/scitechdaily.com\/images\/Artificial-Photosynthesis-Electrochemical-Fuel-Production-System-777x528.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"Battery-Free Artificial Photosynthesis Turns Sunlight, Water, and CO2 Into Fuel","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[271,670,709,2290,1469],"class_list":["post-383069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tech-innovations","tag-artificial","tag-battery","tag-co2","tag-free","tag-water"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/prostartup.it\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/383069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/prostartup.it\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/prostartup.it\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prostartup.it\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prostartup.it\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=383069"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/prostartup.it\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/383069\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prostartup.it\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/383070"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/prostartup.it\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=383069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prostartup.it\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=383069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prostartup.it\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=383069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}