2023 BIST Ignite Project: MOLOPEC

The MOLOPEC project recieved the BIST Ignite Award in 2024.

Project overview

The MOLOPEC project contributes to the development of solar synthetic fuels as a sustainable solution for solar energy conversion, storage, and distribution. By leveraging photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting for hydrogen (H₂) generation and CO₂ reduction, MOLOPEC aims to provide a viable alternative for long-term solar energy storage and distribution.

Unlike conventional technologies that rely on inorganic materials and scarce critical raw resources, MOLOPEC is pioneering a fully organic photoelectrochemical system. This means the materials used are:

• More sustainable – Avoiding reliance on rare and environmentally harmful materials.
• Lightweight and flexible – Adaptable for various applications, including integration into different surfaces.
• Scalable and cost-effective – Compatible with high-throughput fabrication methods, making large-scale production feasible.

During the seed stage of the BIST Ignite MOLOPEC project, researchers from ICFO, ICIQ, and ICN2 collaborated to develop a fully organic triple tandem structure for H₂ and CO₂ reduction (CO₂R). By combining computational design and cutting-edge characterization techniques, they identified key operational parameters and limitations of the system. These advances validated the feasibility of a fully organic PEC system and set the stage for further improvements.

In the Award Phase of the project, the BIST Ignite team will refine the materials and techniques developed in the first stage, focusing on improving performance, stability, and scalability.

MOLOPEC aspires to achieve a fully organic triple tandem PEC system capable of efficiently converting CO₂ into C₂+ value-added products such as ethylene, ethanol, and 2-propanol.

Multidisciplinarity within MOLOPEC

The MOLOPEC project brings together ICFO’s expertise in OPV and OPEC fabrication, ICIQ’s cutting-edge molecular catalysts, and ICN2’s advanced electron microscopy and characterization techniques. The synergy between these three partners will be instrumental in advancing this technology toward real-world applications.