A scientist at the University of Tel Aviv (Dept. of Biochemistry) thinks that someday the same natural power system that peas use to convert sunlight into sugar could create electricity for your home.
Using the basics of plant photosynthesis, or what structural biologist and nanoscientist Prof. Nathan Nelson is calling the Photosystem I (PSI) complex, it may someday be possible to harness the molecular engines of plants to create what is, in the botanical world at least, a 100-percent conversion of sunlight into energy.
Prof. Nelson’s technique involves identifying and segregating the tiny crystals of this PSI complex, which he then managed to convert into a miniscule biological solar cell.
Alternatively, think of it as carbon-based solar (as opposed to silicon-based solar), a seeming contradiction given the need to reduce the carbon emissions implicated in climate change. But wouldn’t it be remarkable if the next, best hope for clean, renewable solar energy came from the very world that created the oil and gas currently implicated in the global warming problem?
Prof. Nelson’s botanical-based solar cell reportedly won’t achieve the 100-percent efficiency found in the natural world, but researchers associated with the project expect at least 20 percent efficiency, which is about five percent better than the most efficient silicon-based solar photovoltaic technology on the market today.
The best thing about the bio-based solar is the cost of the feedstock. Derived from cyanobacteria, the costs are about $1 per square meter of solar material.
The biggest drawback is the size of the actual cell, which at 3 millimeters (0.118 inches) isn’t much bigger than the recently vaunted “glitter” solar cells projected for use in solar-energy generating clothing, tents or BIPV (building integrated photovoltaic) applications.
The university reportedly intends to work on the size in the near future, producing bio-based solar cells closer to one centimeter, or 0.39 inches.
The actual solar cell itself is fashioned of about 200 chlorophylls (the basic substance in photosynthesis). These are layered with proteins between two exterior layers, an inorganic semiconductor (silicon, gallium or arsenide?) and a conductor (copper, for example).
The basic science behind photosynthesis was formulated in 1905 by Albert Einstein, who concluded that photons delivering a charge to electrons triggered a biochemical reaction that resulted in glucose, or plant sugars.
