Solar Fuel

The sun is the ultimate source of all energy. Throughout the years, scientists have been studying and developing methods in which the power of the sun can be used to power houses, cars, and even entire cities. However, the sun has never been used to create fuel. Noubar Afeyan, CEO of Flagship Ventures and founder of Joule Biotechnologies, believes he has created a form of solar fuel that could effectively compete with fossil fuels.

Joule, using gene manipulation and design, has created photosynthetic mociroorganisms that use sunlight to convert carbon dioxide into ethanol or diesel. According to Joule, such organisms have never been created before. Their method is considered more effective than biomass approaches because Joule’s photobioreacters in which the microbes grow are significantly smaller and require no fresh water. Afeyan has also created a genetic switch for the microbes that will be used in order to limit their growth. This will allow for the energy of the process to be used toward fuel production rather than the organisms’ growth. According to Afeyan ,the process will yield 100 times as much fuel per hectare as fermenting corn to produce ethanol, and 10 times as much as making it from sources such as agricultural waste.

While the development seems immensely promising, Afeyan and other supporters are fully aware of possible setbacks and difficulties. For instance, the International Energy Agency estimates that by 2050, biofuels will only account for 26% of the world’s demand for transportation fuel. Also, Afeyan understands the huge financial risk of bringing biofuel production to a massive scale. However, he will carry out his plan on a smaller scale by running an outdoor pilot plant, which is currently under construction, in Leander, Texas. Afeyan sees a great promise in Joule’s current project and urges the company to stay innovative. Regarding his solar fuel development, Afeyan maintains, “We have the elements of a potentially transformative technology.”

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,790669,00.html

http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/25077/page2/