Good Innovation.

Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore(AP),India

I knew it. I knew someone would create fuel from sunlight and water. Holy s---!

Does efficiency really matter when the source is inexhaustable, how many cells are needed to produce enough fuel for average vehicle use and what is the estimated cost per cell. IF the cells are inexpensive to mass produce, IF feedstock is widely available and IF an affordable number would do the job then this would be a viable technology.

Handy for Mars

Hi Michael. Efficiency matters relative to the weight of the system to move the vehicle. If it takes more energy to move the weight of the system than the energy the system produces, it wouldn\'t be worth mass producing it until at least that threshold is significantly crossed, notwithstanding the other factors you mentioned which are important as well. The weight-to-energy produced is much less an issue with stationary energy production, such as for commercial or residential property, but for vehicles, it is to be considered.

You don\'t need the whole generator in your car - just re-fill your cars hydrogen fuel cells while it\'s parked in your garage ...

It seems your saying the unit would be on the vehicle and I dont think thats what bio power jeff was referring to . The unit produces hydrogen and that would be used to fill the fuel cell. The unit itself wouldnt be carted around with the vehicle and in that instance I agree with Jeff... Of course more efficiency is better but like Jeff said if its almost inexhaustible then it sitting there creating hydrogen should be started right away and the efficiency worked on.. Especially for vehicles...

Handy for Mars......plenty of sunlight no doubt......but how do we get the water there?

Great post! This solar reactor is truly a breakthrough in green technology. I think people nowadays should use tools and technology that have less toll on the atmosphere, or does not contribute to global warming and the greenhouse effect. For example, a simple greenhouse kit for gardeners and farmers can be a significant help for the lessening of global warming.

Ugh. Not another hydrogen \"solution.\" Hydrogen is a TERRIBLE fuel. It has a low energy density (about 3400 times less energy by volume than gasoline in gaseous form at STP) and only three times the specific energy of gas. Even worse the stuff leaks. Repeat after me, hydrogen sucks. If you want a viable fuel at least add a carbon atom and get something practical like methane.
I\'d also question what just what that 19% efficiency really means. Is that really total efficiency from sunlight to fuel or is that just a subset of the available wavelengths?