Now that it has become abundantly clear energy storage is the most important factor that can ensure the long-term success of renewable energy, the field has been brimming with potential breakthroughs. But while the majority of these seem to focus on improving existing batteries or finding alternatives to them, some scientists have taken a different path: heat storage. A team of chemistry scholars from the Chalmers University of Technology on Sweden have been working on a project for the development of a so-called molecular solar thermal system since 2013, and now they have news to report. The project, led by chemistry professor Kasper Moth-Poulsen, involved the design of a molecule—carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen—which can capture solar energy and store it for as long as necessary until a catalyst causes a chemical reaction that results in the release of the energy in the form of heat. According to the team, […]