Storing Solar Thermal Energy in Chemical Form has the Potential to Make it Indefinitely Storable and Transportable.

David L. Chandler, MIT News Office A molecule of fulvalene diruthenium, seen in diagram, changes its configuration when it absorbs heat, and later releases heat when it snaps back to its original shape. Broadly speaking, there have been two approaches to capturing the sun’s energy: photovoltaics, which turn the sunlight into electricity, or solar-thermal systems, [...]