Nature:
Photovoltaic solar panels convert sunlight into electrical
energy with efficiencies up to 20%. No photosynthesizing plant,
alga, or bacterium can match that efficiency—sugar cane
comes closest with 8. But the photosynthesizers have one big
advantage over the photovoltaics: Chemical energy in the form
of fuel is much easier to store and transport than electrical
energy is. Recognizing that advantage, the US Department of
Energy has just announced the foundation of the Joint Center
for Artificial Photosynthesis. Led jointly by Caltech and
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, JCAP will receive $122
million over five years. Its aim, as
Nature's Jeff Tollefson reports, will be to develop
systems that convert sunlight directly to fuel.
