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Iida Group Holdings Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Musashino, Tokyo; President and Representative Director: Hiroshi Nishino) has announced that its joint research on "Artificial Photosynthesis Technology" with Osaka Metropolitan University (Abeno-ku, Osaka; Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Shin-ichi Fukushima) has achieved a world-class efficiency of 4% in producing pure formic acid directly from sunlight.

Iida Group Holdings Co., Ltd. and the Research Center for Artificial Photosynthesis at Osaka Metropolitan University have been conducting joint research and development since 2015 to realize the "IG Perfect Eco House" utilizing artificial photosynthesis technology. Conventionally, sunlight has been widely used as a leading form of renewable energy, but its intensity is highly dependent on weather conditions and time, presenting a major challenge. To rdiv claesolve this issue, the joint research team of Iida Group Holdings and Osaka Metropolitan University has successfully developed a new system that fully automates and controls chemical reaction processes in an electrolysis cell utilizing solar energy.

The newly developed system controls the supply of gas and water in response to the intensity of sunlight, ensuring that pure formic acid of a constant concentration is obtained at all times. The obtained formic acid can be stored semi-permanently.

Furthermore, in demonstration experiments of this technology conducted at the Sugimoto Campus of Osaka Metropolitan University, the energy conversion efficiency for producing a pure aqueous solution of formic acid from sunlight reached 4%—a world-class level that includes the energy required for system operation. These results demonstrate that this fully automated control system is highly effective for stably producing formic acid from sunlight, despite its fluctuating intensity.

These findings were presented as an "automated device to convert sunlight into chemical energy resources" at the 35th International Photovoltaic Science and Engineering Conference (PVSEC-35) in November 2024, where the presentation received the Lecture Award.

*Formic acid is an organic substance composed of hydrogen and carbon dioxide (CO2). Because it is liquid at room temperature and pressure, it is attracting attention as a storage medium for hydrogen energy. For example, 20 liters of a 10% formic acid aqueous solution produced by this fully automated control system contains approximately 1,000 liters of hydrogen, which is equivalent to about 3 kWh of energy—one-fifth of the daily energy required for an average household in Japan. For this reason, formic acid is considered an extremely beneficial organic substance capable of safely storing and transporting hydrogen energy

Related Information

Iida Group Holdings Press Release (PDF: 593.3KB)

Published on: Osaka Metropolitan University Website