SOLARH2

European Solar-Fuel Initiative - Renewable Hydrogen from Sun and Water. Science Linking Molecular Biomimetics and Genetics

 Partecipanti

Mappa

 Word cloud

Esplora la "nuvola delle parole (Word Cloud) per avere un'idea di massima del progetto.

 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'SOLAR-H2 brings together 12 world-leading European laboratories to carry out integrated, basic research aimed at achieving renewable hydrogen (H2) production from environmentally safe resources. The vision is to develop novel routes for the production of a Solar-fuel, in our case H2, from the very abundant, effectively inexhaustible resources, solar energy and water. Our multidisciplinary expertise spans from molecular biology, biotechnology, via biochemistry and biophysics to organo-metallic and physical chemistry. The project integrates two frontline research topics: artificial photosynthesis in man-made biomimetic systems, and photobiological H2 production in living organisms. H2 production by these methods on a relevant scale is still distant but has a vast potential and is of utmost importance for the future European economy. The scientific risk is high - the research is very demanding. Thus, our overall objective now, is to explore, integrate and provide the basic science necessary to develop these novel routes and advance them toward new horizons. Along the first track, the knowledge gained from biochemical/biophysical studies of efficient enzymes will be exploited by organometallic chemists to design and synthesize bio-mimetic compounds for artificial photosynthesis. The design of these molecules is based on molecular knowledge about how natural photosynthesis works and how hydrogenase enzymes form H2. Along the second track, we perform research and development on the genetic level to increase our understanding of critical H2 forming reactions in photosynthetic alga and cyanobacteria. These studies are directly aimed at the improvement of the H2 producing capability of the organisms using novel genetic and metabolic engineering. The project also involves research aimed at demonstrating the concept of photobiological H2 production in photobioreactors.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

At a time when fossil fuels are rapidly depleting and the climate changes are accelerating, it has become increasingly important to find sustainable alternatives. An EU-funded project aims at achieving renewable hydrogen (H2) production from environmentally friendly resources.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

The SOLARH2 project is a research collaboration bringing together 12 world-leading European laboratories. The multidisciplinary team has expertise in molecular biology and biotechnology, as well as organo-metallic and physical chemistry. The team is designing synthetic compounds able to mimic biological molecules that can convert energy from the Sun into hydrogen fuel. They are also investigating the use of bacteria and algae in bioreactors to perform the same conversion.

For living organisms, researchers are looking at the optimal conditions required for the hydrogen-generating reaction. Factors like oxygen supply and the amount of light need to be considered.

Long-term, the project's goal is to exploit Earth's unlimited supply of water and solar energy instead of its limited supply of fossil fuels. This basic research into both biological and synthetic solutions will open the door for larger, more high-impact projects in the future.