5E Advanced Materials, an ASX-listed exploration stage boron and lithium company, has ventured into a research collaboration agreement with Boston College to advance boron-based materials research in solar energy systems.
As part of the partnership, 5E will provide funds and collaborate with Boston College to research and develop novel boron-based materials that have the potential to integrate solar energy capture, conversion, and storage into a single closed system.
In a press release, 5E said the research has the potential to create intellectual property and commercialisation pathways for manufacturing boron to enhance solar energy systems.
The research agreement is expected to create boron-based materials that will help accelerate the future solar marketplace. It also aligns with 5E’s goal of becoming a global leader in boron specialty and advanced materials.
“We have been developing boron-based compounds for applications across biomedical research and catalysis to optoelectronic materials and are excited to focus on solar energy applications given decarbonization implications,” said Boston College Professor Shih-Yuan Liu.
“This research has the potential to create boron advanced materials that capture the energy of sunlight and directly convert it into a storable high-energy fuel,” Liu added.
Solar energy is expected to play a crucial role in the industry amid increasing demand for a carbon-neutral global economy.
According to the International Energy Agency, solar energy is anticipated to contribute approximately 60 per cent to the increase in global renewable capacity in 2022.
Meanwhile, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimated that solar energy could provide up to 45 per cent of the electricity in the United States by 2050.
“There is an ever-increasing global call for a decarbonized future, and solar energy will be a major part of the solution. To achieve success, however, will require enhanced, scalable technologies for solar energy capture, conversion, and storage,” said Dinakar Gnanamgari, CCO and CTO at 5E Advanced Materials.
“We believe our research agreement with world-renowned university, Boston College, has the potential to create such an efficient solar energy platform using boron advanced materials.”
