Researchers look beyond traditional products to bring the benefits of harvesting solar energy to places that have not been able to access it previously. A new solar paint can turn surfaces like fences or the outside of a building into energy collectors. And, although it won't be available for five years, this type of innovation will reshape design thinking in the future.

Powering homes using clean energy is becoming easier thanks to a growing number of innovative technologies and initiatives. Some government programs help homeowners with the financial burden of equipping their residences with energy-generating solar panels, and Elon Musk’s Tesla has developed roofing tiles that double as solar panels to give solar power generation an aesthetic boost. Now, a new innovation out of Australia is poised to make clean energy even more appealing.

A team of researchers from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) has developed a paint that can be used to generate clean energy. The paint combines the titanium oxide already used in many wall paints with a new compound: synthetic molybdenum-sulphide. The latter acts a lot like the silica gel packaged with many consumer products to keep them free from damage by absorbing moisture.

According to a report on RMIT’s website, the material absorbs solar energy as well as moisture from the surrounding air. It can then split the water into hydrogen and oxygen, collecting the hydrogen for use in fuel cells or to power a vehicle. “[T]he simple addition of the new material can convert a brick wall into energy harvesting and fuel production real estate,” explained lead researcher Dr. Torben Daeneke.

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