The race against time to find an alternative energy source to fossil fuels has been on for a while. If I have to say I've seen "killer solutions" that can solve the problem, I haven't seen any. However, the research team of the Monash University Biomedicine Discovery Institute of Melbourne, Australia, appears to have made a big leap forward in clean energy generation. In a study just published in Nature (I link it here), doctors Rhys Grinter, Ashleigh Kropp and the professor Chris Greening they discovered an enzyme called Here, which can transform the hydrogen in the air into electricity.
Electricity from the air: the "magic" enzyme
Researchers have identified the enzyme responsible for using atmospheric hydrogen in a bacterium known as Mycobacterium smegmatis. Professor Greening explains that bacteria in harsh environments such as the Antarctic soil, volcanic craters and deep under the ocean can use trace amounts of hydrogen in the air to create energy. Energy that they then exploit to grow and survive. A big blow for the scientific community, and a strong inspiration to find (as always from nature, the biomimetics teaches) the solution to our problems.
The Huc enzyme is capable of absorbing hydrogen below atmospheric levels (this is a tiny percentage: just 0,00005% of the air we breathe). This makes it absolutely unique among other enzymes and chemical catalysts. The team used state-of-the-art methods to identify the molecular model of atmospheric hydrogen oxidation and advanced microscopy to determine its atomic structure and electrical pathways. The electrochemical technique demonstrates that the purified enzyme creates electricity at minute concentrations of hydrogen.
Possible applications
As you can imagine, the Huc enzyme cannot be used on its own. It naturally goes "packed" so that it can maintain its capabilities. And researchers have already seen that by freezing or heating the enzyme, it can be stored in harsh environments without losing its ability to provide energy. This research still has a long way to go, but there is no doubt: Huc's discovery is an important step forward in the search for clean energy sources. This enzyme represents a promising alternative to fossil fuels: moreover, it does not require large "maneuvers" to install solar plants, or hectares of land to cover.
One day, bacterial "batteries" like this (or this) will be able to capture the energy they need even during the journey of an aircraft: imagine airplanes that capture energy from the air while they are still in flight. However, the potential is huge, and could go far beyond the aviation industry.
There is an air of big news in the future of energy. Don't put too much into it!
