Sunburn Science Unlocks New Molecular Energy Storage Breakthrough
BBC Business reported Friday that a chemistry professor inspired by her own sunburned skin has developed a molecular energy storage system capable of outperforming lithium-ion batteries on energy density.
Sunburn Becomes a Scientific Catalyst
Chemistry professor Grace Han of the University of California, Santa Barbara, made the connection after relocating from Boston. Southern California’s intense UV exposure sent her reading about DNA photochemistry. She learned that sun-damaged DNA molecules contort into a strained shape when irradiated. That observation pointed her toward a promising class of energy storage candidates.
The underlying technology is called molecular solar thermal, or MOST, energy storage. It works by using molecules that twist their shape when exposed to light, storing energy in the process. A separate trigger then reverses that shape, releasing the stored energy as heat on demand. The analogy is close to setting and springing a mousetrap.
Background: A Decades-Old Idea Finally Gaining Ground
Scientists have pursued MOST systems for decades without dramatic results. The concept is appealing because such systems can theoretically hold energy for months or even years at virtually no emissions cost. What was missing was a molecule capable enough to make the approach practical at scale.
Han’s team found their candidate in molecules similar to those repaired by an enzyme, photolyase, found in plants and animals. Evolution had already optimised the shape-shifting chemistry over millions of years. The team’s February paper described a system reaching 1.65 megajoules of energy per kilogram, surpassing the energy density of conventional lithium-ion batteries used in phones and electric vehicles.
In a demonstration, the system heated a small vial solution rapidly enough to boil off water. Han told BBC Business the speed of the boiling surprised even her.
Hurdles Remain Before Commercial Use
The system is not without drawbacks. The light wavelength needed to trigger the molecular shape change sits at 300 nanometres, a harsh UV band that reaches Earth’s surface only in small quantities. The energy release currently requires hydrochloric acid as a catalyst, a corrosive substance that must be neutralised after each use.
Han says she is working to improve the system’s response to natural sunlight and to find a safer release trigger. Researcher Kasper Moth-Poulsen of the Polytechnic University of Barcelona, who works on competing MOST systems, called the energy density result genuinely impressive.
The broader ambition is decarbonising heat. Heating remains one of the hardest sectors to clean up, and fossil fuels still dominate globally. MOST technology offers the prospect of chemical energy storage that releases heat without any combustion at all.
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