Until now, the generation and storage of electricity from solar energy has been dependent on various devices, leading to conversion losses. That may change soon, as chemists at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) and other research institutes in Germany, Australia, the United Kingdom, Italy, Sweden and the U.S. are conducting research into a hydrocarbon molecule that can either convert sunlight into electricity or save the energy for a long time in a chemical form.