Scientists at Harvard claim that they developed a way of using nanoscale wires for performing artificial photosynthesis. The new method could innovate global energy production.

The reason why nanowires are used is the fact that they have the ability to break down water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. The nanowires make artificial photosynthesis very efficient, something that the scientific community has been after for years.

Scientists believe that being able to have this capability included inside a battery would be one of the first and also most important steps towards obtaining efficient and affordable chemical storage abilities.

Using this technology it may be possible to develop storage materials that could contain the electric energy output of power plants utilizing alternative energy.

Such facilities, which either run on wind or sunlight, only output energy during the day, or during periods of high wind, respectively, which means they don’t have a steady production capability.

Taking this line of though a step further, this means that national power grids are placed under a lot of strain every time alternative energy facilities kick into gear.

The excess power can damage grid components, and also destabilize the system as a whole. But having storage devices of the aforementioned nature could ensure that this never happens again.

Basically, research team are moving towards creating a system that would ensure electricity produced by solar power plants and wind farms is being fed into the grid gradually, and a constant pace.

The new wires play an important role in this because they can imitate one of nature’s essential phenomenon, photosynthesis. Using this process, plants convert carbon dioxide into oxygen, allowing for complex life to exist on this planet.

The new constructs are made out of titanium dioxide (TiO2), and have large surface areas. This allows for them to be mounted on sensors that absorb ultraviolet (UV) lights, and also to increase the latter’s efficiency.