An oil substitute made with ‘artificial leaf’ technology could power ships and planes, according to a leading British
expert.
Scientists have applied a new twist to the process of photosynthesis – the method plants use to harness the energy of sunlight.
Instead of producing organic material from carbon dioxide, as plants do, they plan to manufacture a hydrocarbon ‘fuel’ which could be used instead of oil, using photosynthesising bacteria.
The scientists hope to prove the technology in the next two years and to develop a small-scale demonstration system within five.
This has been tried before, with little success.
But just recently the University of Glasgow team had a ‘eureka moment’ – the discovery that the process could be driven by electricity instead of light.
The oil would be used to ‘store’ energy which could then power vehicles.
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