A new wave in agrovoltaics—solar sharing land with agriculture—is merging with green hydrogen production. (Clean Technica)
The idea: Use on-site solar to split water into hydrogen, giving farms their own clean fuel and energy storage source.
The research: A University of Exeter team modeled a 1 GW solar farm that grows tomatoes while powering an electrolyzer to make hydrogen for fuel-cell vehicles. Even with slightly lower crop yields, the setup came out ahead economically in every test region—from Nigeria to California.
What’s next: Europe is already scaling the concept. The ECHO-WAVE project in Luxembourg will combine solar, wind, and water electrolysis to meet 60% of the nation’s hydrogen demand by 2027. The US explored similar on-farm hydrogen pilots under DOE programs, though many paused after federal funding shifts.