MIT’s researchers announced last week a revolutionary discovery that could allow solar power to become a mainstream energy source. The main issue related to solar power regards the energy storing process once the sun sets.

So far, the only solar energy storing processes found were expensive and rather inefficient, so MIT’s cheap and simple method, inspired by photosynthesis, could be the turning point.

The process was developed by Daniel Nocera, Professor of Energy at MIT and Matthew Kanan, a postdoctoral involved in Nocera’s studies. It involves the use of the sun’s energy to split water cells into hydrogen and oxygen gases, allowing a recombination inside a fuel cell which leads to the formation of carbon-free electricity that can be used to power up a car or a house no matter the time of day or night.

"The importance of their discovery cannot be overstated since it opens up the door for developing new technologies for energy production, thus reducing our dependence for fossil fuels and addressing the global climate change problem," said Mr. James Barber, a biochemistry professor at Imperial College London, as quoted by ComputerWorld. He also added that the discovery could bring huge benefits to the prosperity of humankind.

The water splitting reaction duplicates the one occurring during photosynthesis and because the implementation process does not demand a lot of space or time-consuming activities, Mr. Daniel Nocera is certain that he has found the best possible solution.    

Such researches for finding a better use to solar power have been going on for many years and it seems that all the hard work finally paid off, as from this point on, the scientists have a starting point much closer to the finish line.