Harvesting and Utilization of Solar-Thermal Energy

Global annual energy consumption reaches as high as 2.2 × 10²⁰ joules, with carbon dioxide emissions amounting to approximately 37.4 gigatons. In contrast, the energy delivered to Earth by the sun each year is about 5.475 × 10²⁴ joules—nearly tens of thousands of times greater than humanity’s annual energy usage. Currently, the utilization rate of solar energy remains extremely low, at only about 0.0005%. In fact, harnessing just 0.0004% of this energy would be sufficient to meet the entire energy demand of humankind. Confronted with this vast potential and the stark reality of underutilization, our research team focuses on nano-intelligent materials, dedicating efforts to the development and optimization of photothermal conversion technology. Our applied research spans four key dimensions—clothing, food, building, and aerocraft: “clothing” refers to thermoregulatory smart textiles; “food” involves water evaporation regulation and application; “building” emphasizes building energy efficiency; and “aircraft” relates to aircraft stealth technology. We aim to comprehensively enhance the efficiency of photothermal utilization, promote key applications of this technology in the fields of sustainable ecology and energy, and provide solid support for the national carbon neutrality strategy.