The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) announced the winners of its 2026 Prizes on June 17. The "Bio-hydrogen Cycle with Photocatalysis" team, jointly led by Prof. WANG Feng from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Prof. Paolo Fornasiero from the University of Trieste, Italy, received the 2026 Environment, Sustainability and Energy Horizon Prize: John Jeyes Prize.
The award recognizes the team's pioneering work in developing improved photocatalytic approaches for solar powered hydrogen production from sustainable biomass.
The team has developed efficient photocatalytic methods to produce hydrogen from biomass while generating valuable chemical products. They also proposed new strategies for converting biomass-derived molecules into hydrogen carriers for storage. In addition, they discovered a new mechanism for hydrogen activation under light-driven conditions, enabling more efficient hydrogen-related reactions under mild conditions.
These advances provide a new framework for linking biomass utilization, hydrogen production, and hydrogen storage, and open new possibilities for sustainable hydrogen energy systems.
The team members include (in alphabetical order by surname): Prof. CHEN Ruotian (DICP); Prof. Paolo Fornasiero (University of Trieste); Dr. GAO Zhuyan (DICP); Dr. JIN Ping (DICP); Prof. LI Rengui (DICP); Prof. LIU Wei (DICP); Prof. LUO Nengchao (DICP); Associate Professor Tiziano Montini (University of Trieste); Associate Prof. MU Junju (DICP); Dr. REN Puning (DICP); Prof. WANG Guoxiong (Fudan University); Prof. WANG Feng (DICP); Prof. XIAO Jianping (DICP); and Prof. ZHANG Fuxiang (DICP).
The Royal Society of Chemistry Prizes, with a history of more than 150 years, recognize outstanding contributions to the chemical sciences. The Horizon Prizes were established to honor groups, teams and collaborations making discoveries and innovations that push the boundaries of science.