Tuesday, September 16, 2025
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • Terms & Conditions
Environmental Magazine
Advertisement
  • Home
  • News
  • Climate Change
  • Energy
  • Recycling
  • Air
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Water
No Result
View All Result
Environmental Magazine
  • Home
  • News
  • Climate Change
  • Energy
  • Recycling
  • Air
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Water
No Result
View All Result
Environmental Magazine
No Result
View All Result
Home Energy

Tiny bacterial ‘skyscrapers’ are a biofuel breakthrough

March 26, 2022
in Energy
A A

3D printing has been used to turn ‘nano-housing’ for sun-loving cyanobacteria into high-efficiency power sources. 

A team of researchers at the University of Cambridge believe they have taken a major step forward in the development of ‘biohybrid’ sources of solar energy, which could be a crucial element in the zero-carbon mix. 

Work involved 3D printing a ‘high-rise nano-housing’ block , which allowed the photosynthetic bacteria – or cyanobacteria – to grow rapidly. Waste electrons generated in the natural process of turning sunlight into energy were then extracted, and it was found that constructing exactly the right type of ‘home’ for the organisms increased the amount of energy available for use by over an order of magnitude. The result being an approach to bioenergy generation that offers solar conversion efficiencies that outcompete many current methods. 

‘Our approach is a step towards making even more sustainable renewable energy devices for the future,’ said research lead Dr Jenny Zhang of the Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry. ‘There’s been a bottleneck in terms of how much energy you can actually extract from photosynthetic systems, but no one understood where the bottleneck was. Most scientists assumed that the bottleneck was on the biological side, in the bacteria, but we’ve found that a substantial bottleneck is actually on the material side.’

Cyanobacteria are the most common form of life on the planet, but need a lot of sunlight – and therefore large surface areas such as a lake – to photosynthesise effectively. Energy extraction then requires these organisms to be attached to electrodes. The Cambridge team 3D-printed custom electrodes for the experiment from metal oxide nanoparticles with numerous ‘branches’ and densely packed pillars, resembling a tiny city.

‘The electrodes have excellent light-handling properties, like a high-rise apartment with lots of windows,’ said Zhang. ‘Cyanobacteria need something they can attach to and form a community with their neighbours. Our electrodes allow for a balance between lots of surface area and lots of light – like a glass skyscraper.’

It is now believed the experiment offers a model for powering more sustainable and scalable renewable energy devices, without heavy reliance on mining, recycling, farming, and land use current technologies are often plagued by, for example silicon-based solar cells and many biofuels. 

In related news, researchers at the University of Manchester released a study in 2019 that suggests bacteria in seawater could be used to develop renewable biofuels. 

Image credit: Gabriella Bocchetti

ShareTweetSharePinSendShare

Related Articles

Energy

Department of Energy Allocates $134 million for Fusion Funding

September 11, 2025
Energy

Utility-Scale Solar Can Withstand Severe Hailstorms. Here’s How

September 11, 2025
Energy

Solar Power Gave the Formerly Incarcerated Hope in NJ. Federal Cuts Are Taking it Back

September 11, 2025
Energy

The Whimbrel and the Wind Turbines: Capable of Coexistence?

September 8, 2025
Energy

A California Network of Black Churches Is Embracing Solar Energy, EV Charging

September 7, 2025
Energy

As Trump Pushes Liquified Natural Gas Exports, Residents in Pennsylvania Towns Push Back to Stop a Proposed LNG Terminal

August 30, 2025

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recommended

There’s a ‘Lake’ of Oil Under LA’s Soon-to-Close Refinery. Who’s Going to Clean It Up?

August 22, 2025

MPs warn of dangerous delays and soaring costs at Sellafield

June 5, 2025

Don't miss it

Fossil Fuels

Riding the High From Data Centers, the Grid Cannot Kick Its Gas Habit

September 14, 2025
Fossil Fuels

As Congress Takes a New Swing at Bipartisan Permitting Reform, Environmental Groups Are Calling Foul

September 13, 2025
Fossil Fuels

House Republicans’ Use of Little-Known Law to Strike Down Public Land Plans Could Be Pandora’s Box Moment

September 12, 2025
Air

Beyond the filter: what’s happening in industrial air pollution management?

September 11, 2025
Fossil Fuels

Trump Administration Moves to Dismantle Conservation as an Official Use of Public Lands

September 10, 2025
Fossil Fuels

World’s Largest Fossil Fuel and Cement Producers Are Responsible for About Half the Intensity of Recent Heat Waves, New Study Shows

September 10, 2025
Environmental Magazine

Environmental Magazine, Latest News, Opinions, Analysis Environmental Magazine. Follow us for more news about Enviroment and climate change from all around the world.

Learn more

Sections

  • Activism
  • Air
  • Climate Change
  • Energy
  • Fossil Fuels
  • News
  • Uncategorized
  • Water

Topics

Activism Air Climate Change Energy Fossil Fuels News Uncategorized Water

Recent News

Riding the High From Data Centers, the Grid Cannot Kick Its Gas Habit

September 14, 2025

As Congress Takes a New Swing at Bipartisan Permitting Reform, Environmental Groups Are Calling Foul

September 13, 2025

© 2023 Environmental Magazine. All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Climate Change
  • Energy
  • Recycling
  • Air
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Water

© 2023 Environmental Magazine. All rights reserved.

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.