Liquid system stores solar energy for years and releases it on demand

Back in 2017 we caught wind of an interesting energy system from researchers at Sweden's Chalmers University of Technology designed to store solar energy in liquid form. By hooking it up to an ultra-thin thermoelectric generator, the team has now demonstrated that it can produce electricity, a development it believes lays the groundwork for self-charging electronics that use solar power on demand.

Called the MOlecular Solar Thermal (MOST) system, the technology has been in the works for more than a decade and centers on a specially designed molecule of carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen. When it comes into contact with sunlight, the atoms within the molecule are rearranged to change its shape and turn it into an energy-rich isomer, which can be stored in liquid form.

The energy captured by the MOST system can be stored in this liquid state for up to 18 years, before a specially designed catalyst returns the molecule to its original shape and releases the energy as heat. The Chalmers team has now collaborated with scientists at China's Shanghai Jiao Tong University, who have used a compact thermoelectric generator to turn that heat into electricity.

“The generator is an ultra-thin chip that could be integrated into electronics such as headphones, smart watches and telephones," said researcher Zhihang Wang from Chalmers University of Technology. "So far, we have only generated small amounts of electricity, but the new results show that the concept really works. It looks very promising,”

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