Sunlight and water, straight to hydrogen: an Austin pilot plant hits 12.3%

At a pilot plant in Austin, Texas, panels that make hydrogen directly from sunlight and water have run steadily outdoors for two weeks — a small but real step from laboratory bench to open sky. In smaller lab tests with partner CTF Solar, the technology reached 12.3% solar-to-hydrogen efficiency, meaning about an eighth of the sunlight falling on it became fuel. The team shared the results during UT Austin's Hydrogen Days, where visitors watched the modules produce hydrogen on site.