Lightfuel Hydrogen

LightFuel Company was formed in 2016 to commercialize the solar water-splitting technologies invented and developed by Nanoptek Corporation, a privately-held Delaware C corporation. The scientists and engineers at Nanoptek, since 2002, have been developing and producing robust, low-cost, and efficient photoanodes, and platforms for utilizing these photoanodes, that work with sunlight to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, even without any electric power added. A proprietary etch process forms nanostructures in "commercially pure" Grade 1 titanium foil. A titanium oxide (titania) film is subsequently grown onto and into the nanostructures by a patented thermal process, such that the resulting titania film is highly strained. This strain alters the normal bandgap of titania to be better aligned with the hydrogen evolution potential, as well as with the solar spectrum, for efficient production of hydrogen from water.