This article first appeared on n-tv.de
In the fight against climate change, the search for CO?-free energy suppliers is currently one of the most urgent tasks facing humanity. A new study now shows one approach: it could change the way we generate energy from sunlight. A research team from the University of Cambridge, the University of Rostock and the Ruhr University Bochum investigated the process of photosynthesis in plants. They found a possible way of using natural reaction accelerators, so-called photosystems, to develop biological solar cells. The study was published in the renowned journal “Nature”.
According to a statement by the Ruhr University, this “breakthrough” calls into question the previous model for the basic functioning of photosynthesis. Until now, it was assumed that the photo systems would inevitably have to show high energy losses due to their construction principle – at the end of the process, depending on the organism, less than one percent of the original light energy is chemically bound. According to the researchers, however, the new study was able to show that the high losses during photosynthesis could in principle be avoided.
The highlight: the scientists succeeded for the first time in extracting electrons directly from the initial stages of photosynthesis. “Our results enable completely new concepts for the design of biological solar cells, which – at least theoretically – could significantly improve efficiency,” said Marc Nowaczyk, head of the Chair of Biochemistry at the University of Rostock and co-author of the study, according to the release.
Biological reaction accelerators, called enzymes, are already an integral part of everyday life. They are used, for example, as additives in detergents, refine foods or are used in large-scale processes to produce medicines or raw materials for the chemical industry. In contrast to chemical catalysts, they only react with specific substances and thus produce very targeted products. Furthermore, biological reaction accelerators do not require any precious metals or other rare raw materials.
“In nature, solutions have always prevailed that are not limited by the availability of raw materials,” says Nowaczyk. The findings are now to be used to develop innovative hybrid systems that use biological catalysts and light energy to generate hydrogen as an energy carrier. But the scientist also emphasizes: “It is still a long way to go before this is actually used in practice and further research is required.”
