Abstract
The transition to a sustainable and scalable energy system will require the development of new carbon-neutral fuel technologies. Artificial photosynthesis seeks to meet this need by mimicking the biological energy conversion process, producing biofuels from sunlight. While the process of photovoltaic conversion has existed for almost two centuries, the idea of artificially co-opting and engineering the biological process has been a relatively recent advancement brought about by the exposed molecular workings of cellular-based energy conversion and storage. The following report examines the benefits and limitations of the current artificial photosynthesis strategies developed for storing solar energy as biofuel.
Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank Suzanne Williams and Jacob Todd for critically reading the manuscript and Brad Theilman for background research.
Financial & competing interests disclosure
The author has no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.
No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.