Prolonged hydrogen production by engineered green algae photovoltaic power stations

Abstract

Interest in securing energy production channels from renewable sources is higher than ever due to the daily observation of the impacts of climate change. A key renewable energy harvesting strategy achieving carbon neutral cycles is artificial photosynthesis. Solar-to-fuel routes thus far relied on elaborately crafted semiconductors, undermining the cost-efficiency of the system. Furthermore, fuels produced required separation prior to utilization. As an artificial photosynthesis design, here we demonstrate the conversion of swimming green algae into photovoltaic power stations. The engineered algae exhibit bioelectrogenesis, en route to energy storage in hydrogen. Notably, fuel formation requires no additives or external bias other than CO2 and sunlight. The cellular power stations autoregulate the oxygen level during artificial photosynthesis, granting immediate utility of the photosynthetic hydrogen without separation. The fuel production scales linearly with the reactor volume, which is a necessary trait for contributing to the large-scale renewable energy portfolio.

The role of semi-artificial photosynthetic systems in energy and environmental solutions: a critical review

“…However, the APS often relies on high-purity semiconductor materials, which entail complex preparation processes, high costs, and susceptibility to electrolyte decomposition, lacking the self-repair ability observed in biocatalysts in NPS. Furthermore, while APS show promise in producing high-value-added multi-carbon compounds (CO2→C2+), they often yield mixtures, resulting in drawbacks such as low efficiency and poor selectivity (Gwon et al, 2023;Wang et al, 2023d). Therefore, the feasibility of large-scale commercializing artificial photosynthetic systems is currently limited.…”