Solar energy is increasingly used in Austria and contributes to achieving climate targets. However, the photovoltaic systems currently in use can only meet part of the country's energy demand: electricity accounts for just 25% of global energy consumption, while 75% still comes from fuels. The research groups led by organic chemist Davide Bonifazi and theoretical chemist Leticia Gonzalez are working on a solution to cover this remaining share using renewable, unlimited resources.
In the episode "The Power of the Sun" from the third season of Manuel Kelemen’s Wetterleben, the two professors from the Faculty of Chemistry explain their ambitious project to convert sunlight into fuel, following the example of plants. However, as chlorophyll molecules can only process around half of the solar spectrum, the researchers aim not just to mimic the process of photosynthesis, but to improve upon it. The pigments developed should be able to absorb as much light as possible and retain it for as long as possible in order to efficiently collect, store and convert the sun's energy.
Leticia Gonzalez's group has access to Austria's largest and fastest supercomputer in the Vienna Scientific Cluster and can simulate the dynamics of molecules under the influence of light using software developed in-house. AI is also used to design models of molecules and investigate their properties. In the experimental chemistry laboratories of the Bonifazi Group, promising substances can be synthesized and tested.
“It’s five minutes past midnight,” warns Leticia Gonzalez. “Only with newly developed materials, globally coordinated political action, and societal change can we achieve the energy revolution.”
Davide Bonifazi also advocates for openness toward innovation: “The industrial revolution was a big step in the transition of our civilisation, and now we are on the verge of a new transition period” He emphasizes, “We need this energy transition to give a better world to our children and grandchildren.”
Links:
- Wetterleben: Die Macht der Sonne (Weatherlife: The Power of the Sun, Stream on joyn.at)
- Website Group Davide Bonifazi
- Website Group Leticia Gonzalez
- Vienna Scientific Cluster
