Photreon, a KIT Spin-off, Is Developing a Photoreactor Panel for Direct Solar Hydrogen Production


Photreon, a start-up project at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), aims to boost the hydrogen economy with mass-produced photoreactor panels that require no electrolyzers, consume no electricity, and do not need a grid connection. With the panels, hydrogen can be produced cost-effectively in a scalable manner from sunlight and water – suitable for both distributed applications and large-scale systems in sunny regions. During the Hannover Messe, April 20–24, 2026, photreon will be presenting at the KIT booth (Hall 11, Booth B06).

Green hydrogen is considered key to a climate-friendly transformation of our industries and energy systems, but thus far its production has been expensive, complex, and tied to grid infrastructure. This is exactly where photreon, a KIT spin-off, aims to make a difference. It has developed a photoreactor panel that generates hydrogen directly from sunlight and water – without electrolyzers or electrical power. “We avoid the detour through electrically powered electrolysis, producing chemical energy from sunlight and water,” said photreon co-founder Paul Kant from KIT’s Institute for Micro Process Engineering (IMVT). Kant also noted that photreon’s modular panels simplify solar hydrogen production while making it economically scalable.

Direct Solar Conversion without Electricity

The approach taken by photreon is based on photocatalysis, a process in which light triggers a chemical reaction directly instead of being used to generate electricity as in photovoltaic systems. Specially designed, light-sensitive materials absorb energy from sunlight, exciting electrons into an activated state. These charge carriers split water molecules (H₂O) into hydrogen (H₂) and oxygen (O₂). “In a single step, we’re replacing photovoltaics and electrolyzers with our photoreactor panel,” said Maren Cordts, who is also a co-founder and a staff member of IMVT. “For the production of green hydrogen, that means much lower complexity and system costs.”

KIT has filed a patent application for the photoreactor panel implemented by photreon. With its special design, the panel guides sunlight to its interior for optimal irradiation of the active material inside, which then drives the reaction that splits the water molecules. “We designed the reactor geometry to optimize the interplay of light transport, chemical reaction, and removal of the reaction products, and we’re demonstrating that with our one-square-meter prototype,” Kant said. The modular design is tailored for mass production using standard processes and low-cost materials, and it can be used on a small scale or expanded to larger areas.

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