Berkeley Lab Researchers Develop Fully Integrated
Microfluidic Test-bed for Solar-driven Electrochemical Energy Conversion
Systems
(June 10, 2013) With the daily mean concentrations of atmospheric carbon
dioxide having reached 400 parts-per-million for the first time in human
history, the need for carbon-neutral alternatives to fossil fuel energy has
never been more compelling. With enough energy in one hour’s worth of global
sunlight to meet all human needs for a year, solar technologies are an ideal
solution. However, a major challenge is to develop efficient ways to convert
solar energy into electrochemical energy on a massive-scale. A key to meeting
this challenge may lie in the ability to test such energy conversion schemes on
the micro-scale.