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

REFINE开发并演示了一种人工光合作用系统，通过将暗反应和依赖光的反应结合起来，直接生产高能量密度和基本化学物质，如醇。为了实现这一目标，提出了在先进的生物精炼系统中通过二氧化碳捕获和转化将氢直接储存为碳氢化合物的方法。在这个过程中，由水光电分解产生的氢与捕获的二氧化碳结合在一起，直接投入到有选择地生产异丙醇和丁醇的生物培养基中，这是一种高能太阳能燃料，驱动这种激进技术系统的唯一能量输入是阳光。为了实现这种人工光合作用系统并将其推向市场，有必要将材料科学、生物技术、工程和社会科学等领域结合起来。项目组织是多中心的，在不同层次上运作；从原材料供应考虑，社会接受度，材料工程和纳米结构到设备组装和适用性。“精炼”的真正融合性质提供了一个全面的、突破性的方法，解决了我们现代社会的主要挑战，如大量的二氧化碳排放和无法有效和广泛接受的二氧化碳回收。细化的愿景远远超出了本应用程序中提出的4年活动。尽管如此，REFINE还是为解决关键科学和社会挑战的多维方法播下了种子。

REFINE develops and demonstrates a system of artificial photosynthesis by combining both dark and light-dependent reactions forthe direct production of high energy density and essential chemicals, such as alcohols. To achieve this, a direct hydrogen storage intohydrocarbons through CO2 capture and transformation in an advanced bio-refining system is proposed. In this, hydrogen produced bywater photoelectrolysis is combined with captured CO2 and directly fed to biocultures that selectively produce isopropanol and butanolas high energy solar fuels, and the only energy input to drive this radical technological system is sunlight. To realise and bring to themarket such a system of artificial photosynthesis it is necessary to converge the fields of materials science, biotechnology, engineeringand 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 ofREFINE provides a holistic, ground-breaking approach that addresses major challenges of our modern societies such as the extensive CO2emissions and inability for efficient and widely accepted CO2 recycling. The vision in REFINE extends well beyond the 4-year activitiesproposed in this application. Still, REFINE is the seed for a multidimensional approach to critical scientific and societal challenges.