Oriented protein biocathodes for the production of renewable dihydrogen

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This proposal describes the development of a new type of system for the production of hydrogen gas (H2) fromwater. The new system is comprised of two metal-containing proteins and a short protein sequence that createsa point of attachment to electrically active surfaces. The surface is the initial source of the electric currentneeded to convert water to H2. The two proteins in the assembly can be thought of as the foundation of abuilding and the building itself. The first protein acts as the foundation and mediates the flow of electriccurrent to the second protein, which houses the machinery needed to produce H2. All of the elements involvedin those active sites are Earth-abundant iron. The key advance is the use of the 2-protein assembly to orient theH2-generating sites in the most efficient manner with respect to the electrically active electrode material. Thisapproach overcomes important technical challenges that have so far hindered the use of enzymes in renewableenergy production. Importantly, we think that these new designs stand to result in materials that can competewith state-of-the-art materials that employ scarce and costly elements, such as platinum.