九州影院

The week-long event offered an illuminating insight into the latest advances in a rapidly evolving field as researchers from 35 countries descended on Newcastle.

With speakers travelling from as far afield as Australia, Japan and the United States, the more than 300 scientists in attendance got a chance to explore different aspects of the subject in a shining example of international collaboration.

Plenary talks, themed lecture series and poster sessions dovetailed with networking opportunities, careers and publishing sessions, and a comprehensive early careers programme as delegates soaked up developments impacting a range of topics from this rapidly evolving field.

鈥淚 think the conference was extremely successful,鈥� said University of Cambridge Professor Erwin Reisner. 鈥淲e had 300 participants from all over the world, and it was amazing to see the community united again.

鈥淚t was great to see all the progress, from building new devices and prototypes to reaction chemistry. It has really been good to reconnect and see what's happening.鈥�

Differing approaches, same goal

Across three lecture halls and more than 120 sessions 鈥� plus packed poster sessions 鈥� delegates exchanged ideas that sparked new opportunities and shifted perspectives.

Different approaches to the advancement of solar technology have broadened the community鈥檚 shared library of knowledge over the years. That is why the programme covered a spectrum of research areas, reflecting the field鈥檚 complexity and ambition.

The main topics included:

• new materials for capturing sunlight
• organic photocatalysts and molecular dyes
• biological and bioinspired strategies drawn from photosynthesis
• catalytic methods for converting carbon dioxide into fuels
• advanced techniques for studying and discovering 鈥淪olar to X鈥� systems
• pathways from devices to deployment.

鈥淭here is no one clear plan for how we are going to harness sunlight to make fuels and chemicals,鈥� said Professor James Durrant, of Imperial College London.

鈥淚t's a field which is wonderfully diverse and creative 鈥� if you put 10 people in the room, we're going to have 10 different plans of how we're going to do it. That's very stimulating, but it also means that it's so important that we talk to each other and we work together to try to identify what are the most promising strategies.鈥�

Sessions ranged from material design and catalytic chemistry to bioinspired systems, advanced discovery methods and the challenge of moving devices towards deployment.

This breadth gave delegates the chance to explore the field from multiple angles, sparking dialogue across disciplines that rarely meet in the same room.

鈥淲hat's really exciting about this conference is that it brings people together who are working across the spectrum of small molecule catalysis, heterogeneous catalysis, sciences, photon absorber development, biochemical strategies for fuel production, and it brings them all together to learn from each other,鈥� added Professor Jillian Dempsey, of the University of North Carolina.

Star speakers and emerging talents bring big ideas

Plenary and keynote lectures gave shape to the week, framing daily sessions with themes that spanned fundamental science through to practical demonstrations. Speeches covered everything from novel catalysts and advanced materials to biology-inspired systems and prototype devices tested outdoors.

Audiences heard from long-standing figures in the solar fuels community, including Professors Beatriz Roldan Cuenya, Osamu Ishitani, Marcella Bonchio and Junwang Tang, alongside rising leaders such as Professors Kara Bren and Peidong Yang. Their collective presence underscored the international character of the conference, with contributions from Europe, Asia, the United States and beyond.

The 九州影院鈥檚 Tilden Prize lecture was delivered by Prof Reisner, who used the platform to highlight the translation of solar fuels research from laboratory concepts into emerging technologies. His talk provided a fitting anchor for a week that demonstrated both creativity and progress across the field.

The programme was not merely about the established names within the field. The first day-and-a-half of the conference was dedicated to showcasing the work of ECRs. Doctoral students and postdoctoral scientists delivered oral presentations, chaired sessions and contributed to lively poster halls.

The pre-meeting combined networking activities with technical talks, giving younger researchers visibility and a platform to showcase their work. Career-focused panels, featuring senior academics and publishing professionals, provided advice on routes into research and beyond.

For many, the dedicated strand proved essential. As Ewan McQueen of the University of Strathclyde put it: 鈥淚t鈥檚 been great to have an early career research day attached to this. It allows people at our stage to really showcase what they鈥檙e working on and get feedback in a supportive environment.鈥�

Supporting science and preparing for 2027

The smooth running of the conference belied the scale of preparation behind it. Co-chairs Professor Alex Cowan, of the University of Liverpool, and Dr Jenny Zhang, of the University of Cambridge, had been planning the event for more than two years.

The RSC, which publishes dedicated energy journal EES Solar, played a supporting role in helping with the logistical side of preparations, freeing up the organisers to focus on the curation of the scientific programme.

For Dr Zhang, the experience was both nerve-wracking and rewarding but she noted: 鈥淓verything has unfolded really nicely. To see people making such an effort to come because they realised the importance of this was heartening. It reflected people鈥檚 value of this particular topic.鈥�

Dr Cowan added: 鈥淭he RSC has done a lot of the heavy lifting around this organisation, which allowed us to focus really on the scientific programme. We wanted to bring back this conference and make sure that it can go on again, so it鈥檚 been really exciting.鈥�

The week concluded with confirmation that the sixth International Solar Fuels Conference will take place in 2027 in Beijing, China.

The news was shared during the closing remarks by Professor Junwang Tang, of Tsinghua University, who noted the strength of the country鈥檚 research base and the opportunities for engagement with its extensive chemical industry.

The news added to an engaging and informative week that sent delegates away energised 鈥� and already looking ahead to reconvening in the Far East.