Breakthrough in artificial photosynthesis could generate unlimited energy

The scientific community is scrambling to find a way to generate unlimited energy. A breakthrough discovery to harness the way plants create energy could be a "lifesaver" for humanity.

From moon crystals to molecules that defy the laws of physics, humans are looking everywhere to fill the looming energy gap in the not-too-distant future.

Now, with the results of a new study into how plants create energy , we may have found a way to make up for that shortfall by harnessing artificial photosynthesis .

Plants rely on a system called photosynthesis to create energy and food. Scientists hope we can mimic that process to create an unlimited source of energy (Image: scimmery1/Adobe).

In this groundbreaking study, scientists have successfully mimicked the natural process of photosynthesis to create methane. This energy-rich fuel only requires water, carbon dioxide and sunlight.

According to the researchers, if scaled up, this new process would allow us to use artificial photosynthesis instead of solar panels as an unlimited source of clean energy that humans have been searching for for decades.

Professor Kazunari Domen at the University of Tokyo, Japan, is the leader of the research team. He and his colleagues have successfully developed a system to split water into hydrogen and oxygen using sunlight.

From there, they hope to develop the process to more closely mimic the system plants use, absorbing carbon dioxide and storing solar energy in methane—essentially an artificial version of photosynthesis.

It's a system very similar to solar panels. But instead of simply harvesting and storing solar energy, the team used an additional photosynthesis system that plants rely on to create more stored energy.

Of course, scaling the system to meet a city's energy needs will require overcoming many challenges to achieve a level of practical feasibility.

Since the system relies on methane to store solar energy, it is essential to create a system that does not leak. If the system leaks, it will contribute to the increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which is a problem that threatens our planet, causing climate change and global warming.

Therefore, if this breakthrough invention is further studied to ensure feasibility and safety, we can completely hope for an extremely positive solution to the problem of global energy security.