Scientists pioneer novel model to turn sunlight into fuel

Scientists in Britain have developed a new method that uses natural sunlight to split water into hydrogen and oxygen by combining biological components with man-made technologies, potentially opening new possibilities for renewable energy production.

The research team, led by scientists at the University of Cambridge, developed a semi-artificial photosynthesis system that combines elements of natural photosynthesis with synthetic technology. The approach could help scientists develop more efficient ways of capturing and storing energy from sunlight.

Researchers said their system was able to absorb more solar energy than natural photosynthesis, which plants and algae use to convert sunlight into chemical energy.

"Natural photosynthesis is not efficient because it has evolved merely to survive so it makes the bare minimum amount of energy needed -- around 1-2 percent of what it could potentially convert and store," said lead author Katarzyna Soko, a doctoral student at the University's St John's College.

Artificial photosynthesis has been studied for several decades as a possible route to clean energy. However, many existing approaches depend on catalysts that can be expensive or toxic, making large-scale commercial applications difficult.

The new system, described in the journal Nature Energy, combines two biological components -- hydrogenase and photosystem II -- to create a semi-artificial photosynthesis process powered entirely by sunlight.

Photosystem II is involved in the first stages of natural photosynthesis, while hydrogenase is an enzyme found in algae that can help produce hydrogen by reducing protons.

Researchers were able to reactivate a process in algae that had become inactive over the course of evolution. This allowed them to use the biological machinery to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.

"Hydrogenase is an enzyme present in algae that is capable of reducing protons into hydrogen. During evolution this process has been deactivated because it wasn't necessary for survival but we successfully managed to bypass the inactivity to achieve the reaction we wanted -- splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen," Soko explained.

The production of hydrogen from water using sunlight is particularly significant because hydrogen can be stored and later used as an energy source, potentially providing a way to address one of the major challenges associated with renewable energy: storing energy generated when sunlight is available.

The researchers hope their findings will help scientists develop new model systems for converting solar energy into usable fuels more efficiently.

While the technology remains at the research stage and would require further development before commercial-scale deployment, the study demonstrates how combining biological processes with engineered technologies could offer new approaches to clean energy generation.