Generating hydrogen is one of the major obstacles in the way of the widespread adoption of fuel cells. The cells produce electricity while only making water as a by-product, but the most likely way of producing large amounts of hydrogen is by electrolysis of water -which needs large amounts of electricity. The European Union is now funding a project aimed at using solar power to generate hydrogen from water, by replicating the process of photosynthesis.
The SOLAR-H project, part of the EU’s Sixth Framework research programme, centred at Uppsala University in Sweden, crosses a wide span of disciplines - genetics, molecular biology, biophysics, and organometallic and physical chemistry. The project integrates ‘two frontline topics - artificial photosynthesis in man-made chemical systems, and photo-biological H2 production using living organisms.’
UppsalaUniversity has set up four teams to work on the project. The first will study living cyanobacteria, whose genetics have been altered so that they produce hydrogen without absorbing it at the same time. The second will look at the biochemical mechanisms of natural photosynthesis, which will help the third team to synthesise the molecule complexes necessary to replicate these processes. The fourth team will study the rapid and complex reactions of the process.
