Spinach cell uses sunlight to produce electricity and hydrogen from water

A team of researchers from the Technion Israel Institute of Technology has developed a bio photo electro chemical (BPEC) cell that produces hydrogen and electricity from water using sunlight. They used a simple membrane extract from spinach leaves to achieve this feat. The device produces oxygen, hydrogen and electric current using only water as a raw material.
The device, using a unique combination of plant membranes and a man made BPEC cell, paves the way for the development of new technologies for the manufacture of clean fuels from renewable sources: solar energy and water. It is highly efficient in absorbing sunlight and converting it into a flow of electrons.

http://sciencenewsjournal.com/newly-developed-cell-uses-sunlight-produce-electricity-hydrogen-water/

Full study: http://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms12552

 

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German new rail system will debut next year . the rail will be propelled by Hydrogen gas.
The hydrogen, or hydrail, train is set to run on the Buxtehude-Bremervörde-Bremerhaven-Cuxhaven line in Lower Saxony starting in December 2017, Die Welt reported on Tuesday.

The train - called the "Coradia iLint" - has been developed over the past two years by French company Alstom and was presented on Tuesday at the Berlin InnoTrans trade show.

The hydrogen train operates using a hydrogen fuel tank, stored on the roof of the train, that in turn powers a fuel cell to produce electrical energy. This technology provides a new environmentally friendly alternative to the diesel trains that are still used across much of Germany.

“Alstom is proud to launch a breakthrough innovation in the field of clean transportation which will complete its Coradia range of regional trains," said Alstom chairman and CEO Henri Poupart-Lafarge, in a statement.

"It shows our ability to work in close collaboration with our customers and develop a train in only two years.”

Engineers have been developing ‘hydrail’ technology for the last 15 years, but mostly with freight trains.

 

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