Publication date: 22nd July 2026
The mimicry of photosynthesis to produce sustainable fuels and chemicals has long inspired scientists, but fully functional and scalable systems that fully replicate natural photosynthesis remain rare, and viable routes to commercialisation are uncertain. Recent advances in the assembly of photosynthesis-inspired architectures have enabled the construction of prototype solar devices for direct CO₂ fixation. Artificial leaves combine semiconductor light absorbers with immobilised (bio)molecular catalysts to drive solar-powered CO2 reduction, producing fuels, alongside oxygen evolution from water oxidation. These products can be further upgraded via integrated catalytic processes, for example converting formate into enantioenriched organics through enzymatic cascades or into sugars using engineered microorganisms. The replacement of water oxidation by the valorisation of waste substrates provides a possible path towards commercialisation. This “solar reforming” approach offers favourable thermodynamics and kinetics while improving economic viability by coupling fuel production with waste upcycling. Notably, outdoor solar plastic reforming is currently being tested at the kilogram/square meter scale. This presentation will outline the emerging paradigm of integrated solar chemistry with a focus on solar reforming. It will also highlight strategies and frontiers such as atmospheric CO₂ utilisation, advanced light management in integrated devices, and solar-driven cascade catalysis for high-value chemical synthesis.
More information: http://www-reisner.ch.cam.ac.uk/
Support by the UK Department of Science, Innovation and Technology and the Royal Academy of Engineering Chair in Emerging Technologies programme (CIET-2324-83 to E.R.) as well as UK Research & Innovation (UKRI; ERC Advanced Grant EP/X030563/1 to ER) is acknowledged.
nanoGe is a prestigious brand of successful science conferences that are developed along the year in different areas of the world since 2009. Our worldwide conferences cover cutting-edge materials topics like perovskite solar cells, photovoltaics, optoelectronics, solar fuel conversion, surface science, catalysis and two-dimensional materials, among many others.
Previously nanoGe Spring Meeting (NSM) and nanoGe Fall Meeting (NFM), MATSUS is a multiple symposia conference focused on a broad set of topics of advanced materials preparation, their fundamental properties, and their applications, in fields such as renewable energy, photovoltaics, lighting, semiconductor quantum dots, 2-D materials synthesis, charge carriers dynamics, microscopy and spectroscopy semiconductors fundamentals, etc.
International Conference on Hybrid and Organic Photovoltaics
International Conference on Hybrid and Organic Photovoltaics (HOPV) is celebrated yearly in May. The main topics are the development, function and modeling of materials and devices for hybrid and organic solar cells. The field is now dominated by perovskite solar cells but also other hybrid technologies, as organic solar cells, quantum dot solar cells, and dye-sensitized solar cells and their integration into devices for photoelectrochemical solar fuel production.
Asia-Pacific International Conference on Perovskite, Organic Photovoltaics and Optoelectronics
The main topics of the Asia-Pacific International Conference on Perovskite, Organic Photovoltaics and Optoelectronics (IPEROP) are discussed every year in Asia-Pacific for gathering the recent advances in the fields of material preparation, modeling and fabrication of perovskite and hybrid and organic materials. Photovoltaic devices are analyzed from fundamental physics and materials properties to a broad set of applications. The conference also covers the developments of perovskite optoelectronics, including light-emitting diodes, lasers, optical devices, nanophotonics, nonlinear optical properties, colloidal nanostructures, photophysics and light-matter coupling.
The International Conference on Perovskite Thin Film Photovoltaics Perovskite Photonics and Optoelectronics (NIPHO) is the best place to hear the latest developments in perovskite solar cells as well as on recent advances in the fields of perovskite light-emitting diodes, lasers, optical devices, nanophotonics, nonlinear optical properties, colloidal nanostructures, photophysics and light-matter coupling.