ESA SciSpace SolarMag Project

We are delighted to have the opportunity together with Prof. Álvaro Romero-Calvo, head of the Low-Gravity Science and Technology Lab at GeorgiaTech/ USA and Ömer Akay, ZARM, University of Bremen/Germany to fly our experiments in a Sounding Rocket to the borders of space! Our project Efficient Solar-Driven Oxygen and Fuel Production Utilizing Magnetically-Induced Buoyancy for Life Support During Long-Term Space Travel was selected by ESA to fly between 2024-2025.

Our team will provide a proof-of-concept microgravity test of an autonomously operating, efficient and monolithic solar water-splitting device for oxygen and hydrogen production which could complement currently existing life support technologies. In order to achieve efficient and stable gas production, we will investigate two key mechanisms to successfully detach hydrogen and oxygen gas bubbles from the electrode surface and direct them through the electrolyte solution to a gas collection point: i) magnetically-induced buoyancy, and (ii) hydrophilic electrocatalyst structures. The longer microgravity time provided by the sounding rocket experiment will be crucial to successfully demonstrate the effect of both mechanisms.

Our results will not only be key for demonstrating the possibility of utilizing photoelectrochemical devices in space which could be extended e.g., to carbon dioxide removal and chemical synthesis – they will also be instrumental in optimizing electrolyzer systems, phase separators, and boiling processes in reduced gravitation.