H2O + Sun + Au = plenty of H for fuel cells

Fuel cells are the future of distributed energy production and engines in vehicles, of this there is no doubt.

They take a molecule with hydrogen in it, split it up to produce plain hydrogen, which then powers the fuel cell to produce electricity.

Problem is that while the most abundant source of hydrogen is water, it's required more energy in the splitting process than is produced by the fuel cell. So most research to date has been on extracting hydrogen from hydrocarbons - oils. And that's kind of self-defeating isn't it?

Far better if scientists can derive a way to split water, and better still if it can be efficiently powered by that other uber-abundant energy source - the sun - right? And that's just what they've now done.
According to Treehugger, scientists at University of East Anglia have now developed a way to use solar radiation to power the required break-down with a very high 60% efficiency. It uses gold electrodes and a dose of nanotechnology, and their next step is to do it with something cheaper than gold.

The future is coming, and with the help of great science like this, the future can be a clean green one.

Are your kids studying science at school?