Researchers at Macquarie University are designing bacteria that convert sugar into hydrogen, and the research project received a $1.1 million grant from the Australian government's renewable energy agency, ARENA.
'The world is interested in using hydrogen to generate electricity in hydrogen fuel cells, such as powering vehicles, heating buildings or supplying electricity to the industry,' said Professor Robert Willows, one of the project leaders. 'This is a clean and efficient Energy. '
Although 95% of the world's hydrogen is currently from fossil fuels, more and more people are studying how to produce hydrogen from renewable sources.
'A lot of recent research has focused on the use of electrolysis to break down water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen to produce hydrogen,' said Louise Brown, co-head of the project. 'They do this by using solar and wind power.'
'Others are taking biological pathways and adjusting the photosynthesis of algae to produce hydrogen.'
'We think we can use genetically modified bacteria - in our case, E. coli - can eat glucose from renewable sources such as sugar cane and grains,' Louise said. 'We will also focus on other low-cost carbohydrate raw materials.'
Transgenic E. coli (web picture) 'The goal of our project is to design a system that is capable of producing hydrogen at a relatively fast rate and is commercially viable,' said Robert. 'The use of bacteria to produce hydrogen has many advantages over algae, including the fact that it does not require large open ponds. '
The team is planning to expand from the current small laboratory facilities. This will enable them to test the safety and effectiveness of their processes as they work to commercialize the technology.
Louise said: 'Even in the lab, we can use a spoonful of sugar to produce enough hydrogen in one day to generate enough energy to charge your phone for two weeks.'
Researchers from the Macquarie Department of Molecular Sciences collaborated with BOC Australia and Bioplatforms on this project.
The three-year grant from ARENA will provide an additional $1.7 million in further funding and in-kind support.
'BOC is committed to supporting Australian research and development using clean gas fuels. Renewable hydrogen is the fuel of the future, and we are proud to share our global expertise with researchers at Macquarie University as they are about to enter the next phase of technology Development, 'General Manager of BOC Hydrogen and LNG, Alex Dronoff said.
'The team will be able to use our research infrastructure to better understand the changes they make to the genes, proteins and metabolism of the bacteria being designed,' said Andrew Gilbert, General Manager of Bioplatforms Australia. 'We are excited to support this innovation A valuable project to produce hydrogen in a way. '
Professor Barbara Messerle, Executive Dean of the School of Science and Engineering at Macquarie University, said: 'With economic decarbonization, alternative clean and carbon-neutral energy sources (such as hydrogen) Will become critical. The project uses an innovative approach that allows us to continuously and efficiently produce hydrogen to meet our future power needs and possibly export overseas.'
