Artificial Leaf Could Power the Planet - 08/24/09

Scientists are now developing the next generation of clean power.  They are working on copying and improving the process of photosynthesis, the process where plants use sunlight to convert water and carbon dioxide into sugar.  Scientists believe copying parts of this process could provide limitless clean power.

The potential in using the sun’s rays to power the earth is huge.  It would only take one hour of sunlight to power the earth. 

A project called the artificial leaf has been started by researchers at Imperial College London.  By mimicking this process they hope to generate clean fuels such as hydrogen and methanol.  According to James Barber leader of the artificial leaf project, if artificial photosynthesis systems could use 10% of the sunlight falling on them they would only need to cover 0.16% of the earth’s surface to provide the planet with 20 terawatts.  This is the amount of energy predicted the world will need in 2030. 

Hydrogen is a clean energy packed fuel.  It could be used in fuel cells or combined with carbon dioxide from fossil fuel plants to make methanol, which could be used in vehicles without the need for engine modification.

Some researchers believe an artificial leaf could convert a few liters of water a day into hydrogen and oxygen supplying a home with all the energy it needs.

Currently producing hydrogen by splitting water is very expensive.  The critical part of the artificial leaf project is to use cheap materials to split water.  Plants already do it, so researchers believe it is a workable process on a large scale.

Back to the Solar Power Index