The FreeHydroCells project was represented at the 5th International Conference on Solar Fuels (ISF5), a global gathering that brought together over 300 researchers from 35+ countries. The event covered a wide spectrum of topics, ranging from fundamental catalyst research to device deployment and real-world applications.
Two of our colleagues, Elise Bérut and Estelle Le Baron from Commissariat a l’Energie Atomique et aux Energie Alternatives (CEA), France, shared their experiences and insights from the conference.
Elise Bérut: A Newcomer’s Perspective
For Elise, ISF5 was an exciting opportunity to both present her ongoing modelling work and immerse herself in the wider solar fuels community.
The conference topics ranged from fundamental (photo)electrocatalysts for sustainable fuels to device deployment. She noted how much of the research is still concentrated on materials and catalyst development, with fewer studies addressing upscaling and deployment. Elise also reflected on the vast potential of the field, where not only hydrogen but also a variety of other fuels and chemicals – such as ethylene, ammonia, formic acid, and methanol – can be produced using diverse processes.
Elise was delighted to have met researchers working on the influence of bubbles in photoelectrochemical reactors and on two-phase flow modelling from the Helmholtz Institute in Berlin and Penn State University, US.
“As a newcomer in this field, it was an exciting opportunity to learn from and engage with the solar fuels community.” – Elise Bérut
Estelle Le Baron: Expanding the Horizon
Estelle highlighted the breadth of topics presented at ISF5, including organic and inorganic photocatalysts, electrocatalysis, biological approaches, and deployable solar materials. She found the presentations on scaled-up devices under real-world conditions particularly compelling, though she noted that challenges such as efficiency and device longevity remain to be solved before solar fuels can become competitive at scale.
She also celebrated the strong representation of CEA researchers, who gave six oral presentations during the conference, and congratulated a colleague who won the Best Poster Prize for work on CO₂ electroreduction using nanostructured silver-based catalysts.
“Some very interesting presentations included the design and implementation of fully scaled-up devices in real-world outdoor operation, which still require improvements and increased longevity to make solar fuels a more competitive technology.” – Estelle Le Baron
Looking Ahead
Both Elise and Estelle’s reflections highlight the importance of bridging fundamental research with scalable deployment to accelerate progress in solar fuels. Their participation underscores the value of FreeHydroCells’ contributions within this vibrant international community.
We look forward to building on these insights as the project advances.
View the resources here:
Poster – Multiphysics model for design optimization of a monolithic photoelectrochemical cell device