SANTA BARBARA, CA--(Marketwired - Dec 10, 2013) - HyperSolar, Inc. (OTCQB: HYSR), the developer of a breakthrough technology to produce renewable hydrogen using sunlight and any source of water, today announced that its artificial photosynthesis technology is now capable of producing 1.1 volt open circuit voltage for use in direct solar hydrogen production. This achievement represents a 10% increase over the previous 1.0 volt reached just 3 months ago.
It is well known that the theoretical voltage for splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen is 1.23 volts, and approximately 1.5 volts in real-world systems. Achieving 1.5 volts using inexpensive solar cells has eluded the world. For example, silicon solar cells are the most inexpensive and abundant, but their 0.7 volt open circuit voltage is not enough to split water. Commercially available high voltage solar cells are considered to be far too expensive for use in hydrogen production.
"Our cutting-edge research program at the University of California Santa Barbara, led by Dr. Syed Mubeen Hussaini, continues to make impressive progress," stated Tim Young, CEO of HyperSolar. "The 1.1 volt milestone is very exciting in that it provides us with a clear and encouraging roadmap to reach the 1.5 volts needed for water splitting. The semi-conductor materials used are very inexpensive, which gives us confidence that a low cost system is possible. The process to make this novel solar cell is equally exciting in that it is a simple solutions-based chemistry process. It does not require conventional expensive semiconductor processes and facilities and was literally made in a beaker."
"With the recent announcements of Hyundai, Honda, Toyota and other major auto manufacturers to begin shipping hydrogen fuel cell cars next year, there will be increased demand in the near future for clean hydrogen," continued Mr. Young. "We believe our technology can address two serious drawbacks impeding major adoption of hydrogen automobiles: First, the lack of hydrogen production infrastructure near the point of distribution or the fueling stations is addressed by our solar hydrogen production process. Second, hydrogen is currently produced from a fossil fuel -- natural gas -- in a process that releases substantial amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere."
HyperSolar's research is centered on developing a low-cost and submersible hydrogen production particle that can split water molecules under the sun, emulating the core functions of photosynthesis. Each particle is a complete hydrogen generator that contains a novel high voltage solar cell bonded to chemical catalysts by a proprietary encapsulation coating. A video of an early proof-of-concept prototype can be viewed at http://hypersolar.com/application.php.
About HyperSolar, Inc.
HyperSolar is developing a breakthrough, low cost technology to make renewable hydrogen using sunlight and any source of water, including seawater and wastewater. Unlike hydrocarbon fuels, such as oil, coal and natural gas, where carbon dioxide and other contaminants are released into the atmosphere when used, hydrogen fuel usage produces pure water as the only byproduct. By optimizing the science of water electrolysis at the nano-level, our low cost nanoparticles mimic photosynthesis to efficiently use sunlight to separate hydrogen from water, to produce environmentally friendly renewable hydrogen. Using our low cost method to produce renewable hydrogen, we intend to enable a world of distributed hydrogen production for renewable electricity and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. To learn more about HyperSolar, please visit our website at http://www.HyperSolar.com.
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