SUN-MADE LIQUID FUELS

Berkeley lab co-leads $122 million sunlight-to-fuel effort
Suzanne Bohan, July 23, 2010 (Contra Costa Times via San Jose Mercury News)

"Plants fuel the world with their ability to convert sunlight into a usable form of energy. Now, the Department of Energy is putting up $122 million to help humans capture the energy of the sun and create renewable liquid fuels through ‘artificial photosynthesis.’

"Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory and the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena were selected to lead the ambitious research project…Its aim is to master the basic science involved, and develop applications that can be scaled up for commercial use…Nathan Lewis, a Caltech chemist…will serve as director of the sun-to-energy research collaboration, called the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis."

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"Scientists acknowledge the formidable challenge of creating tiny devices that will mimic the microscopic inner workings of one of nature's more intricate processes — photosynthesis. Plants are able to absorb sunlight, water and carbon dioxide, and in a marvel of nature's ingenuity, yield oxygen and carbohydrates that fuel most life on Earth…[I]nstead of yielding a simple carbohydrate, artificial photosynthesis would be designed to create oxygen and liquid fuels such as hydrocarbons or alcohols that could be directly pumped into vehicles, without additional, costly refinement.

"It's not a new quest, but the modest successes thus far have been confined to basic research labs, many steps from practical applications. The techniques also sometimes have required rare, expensive materials that would make any ultimate commercial scale-up impractical. But advances in nanotechnology, a field in which the Berkeley lab excels, make the development of artificial photosynthesis far more realistic…"

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"With nanotechnology, scientists can create "nanowires" that are one-1,000th the size of a human hair, along with elements like nanocrystals. These tiny machine parts are designed to replicate photosynthesis on a scale closer to what happens inside a leaf…

"The five-year artificial photosynthesis project will get $22 million in funding this fiscal year, and $25 million per year for the remaining four years, subject to Congressional approval…[It could] create 100 new jobs, not including construction and other contract jobs. It also engages the work of an estimated 200 scientists statewide. Other universities involved in the artificial photosynthesis hub include SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory at Stanford, UC Berkeley, UC Santa Barbara, UC Irvine and UC San Diego…"