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From solar energy to fuel: A holistic artificial photosynthesis platform for the production of viable solar fuels

Project description

A radical artificial photosynthesis system for solar fuel production

Excessive CO2 emissions and inefficient recycling pose contemporary challenges. Artificial photosynthesis holds promise but necessitates the integration of fields such as materials science, biotechnology, engineering and social sciences to bring it to the market. The EU-funded REFINE project is dedicated to developing a revolutionary artificial photosynthesis system capable of directly producing high-energy alcohols such as isopropanol and butanol, using captured CO2 and hydrogen generated through water photoelectrolysis. This system operates solely on solar energy. The multi-level project organisation represents an innovative and holistic approach to addressing significant modern societal challenges, including widespread CO2 emissions and the lack of efficient CO2 recycling.

Objective

REFINE develops and demonstrates a system of artificial photosynthesis by combining both dark and light-dependent reactions for the direct production of high energy density and essential chemicals, such as alcohols. To achieve this, a direct hydrogen storage into hydrocarbons through CO2 capture and transformation in an advanced bio-refining system is proposed. In this, hydrogen produced by water photoelectrolysis is combined with captured CO2 and directly fed to biocultures that selectively produce isopropanol and butanol as high energy solar fuels, and the only energy input to drive this radical technological system is sunlight. To realise and bring to the market such a system of artificial photosynthesis it is necessary to converge the fields of materials science, biotechnology, engineering and social sciences.
The project organisation is multicentred and operates at different levels; from raw materials supply considerations, societal acceptance, materials engineering and nanostructuring to device assembling and applicability. The true converging nature of REFINE provides a holistic, ground-breaking approach that addresses major challenges of our modern societies such as the extensive CO2 emissions and inability for efficient and widely accepted CO2 recycling. The vision in REFINE extends well beyond the 4-year activities proposed in this application. Still, REFINE is the seed for a multidimensional approach to critical scientific and societal challenges.

Coordinator

UNIVERSITETET I OSLO
Net EU contribution
€ 1 132 814,01
Address
PROBLEMVEIEN 5-7
0313 Oslo
Norway

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Region
Norge Oslo og Viken Oslo
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost
No data

Participants (6)

Partners (2)