Just one hour of sunlight that hits the earth is enough to provide humankind power for one whole year. The problem, other than low solar panel efficiency and costly silicon components, is that solar storage is usually both inefficient and expensive. MIT professor Daniel Nocera (see video after the jump) believes he and his colleagues have found the "nirvana" of energy that people have been looking for for years. We're not talking about a lithium-ion battery for solar energy storage here, but another energy source--hydrogen.

The system set-up would power the home directly from solar energy harnessed through photovoltaics. Surplus energy is then collected, not for storage but for use splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen. The process (which is inspired by photosynthesis) usually required expensive catalysts and a high pH value. The new catalyst however is easy to setup, would work on normal room temperature, and requires only neutral pH.

Through a process called electrolysis, one catalyst would be responsible for producing oxygen gas from water, while another would produce hydrogen. The hydrogen and oxygen could be recombined in a fuel cell to power the home at night, when solar energy isn't readily available. This new discovery is of such enormous scale that it's been pronounced a "giant leap" in clean energy. But whether it could truly change the way everyone on earth lives their lives isn't something we can forecast just yet.