Solar to Hydrogen Conversion using Concentrated Multi-junction Photovoltaics and Distributed Micro-Converter Architecture

Conversion of solar energy to hydrogen has been identified as a viable solution for renewable energy development known as solar fuel. LAAS (Toulouse) and RCAST (Tokyo) laboratories have associated in the framework of the NextPV LIA in order to respond to technological challenges concerning solar fuel studies in order to develop optimal sizing methodologies. A system structure for high efficiency solar to hydrogen energy conversion was developed, comprising multi-junction concentrated photovoltaic solar cells, a distributed DC/DC converter architecture, PEM electrolysis, and a battery storage buffer. Experimental results are obtained through a prototype of the proposed structure.