by Joanna Sampson (Gasworld) Macquarie University researchers have teamed up with BOC Australia and Bioplatforms Australia to genetically engineer bacteria that turn sugar into hydrogen (H2).
The project has received a $1.1m grant from ARENA, the Australian Government’s Renewable Energy Agency. The three-year grant from ARENA is being matched by an additional $1.7m in further funding and in-kind support for the research.
“There’s global interest in using H2 gas to produce electricity in H2 fuel cells, for example to power vehicles, heat buildings or provide electricity for industry,” said Professor Robert Willows, who is one of the project leaders. “It’s a clean and efficient energy source.”
While 95% of the H2 used worldwide currently is produced from fossil fuels, increasingly people are looking at how to produce H2 from renewables.
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“We think we can use genetically engineered bacteria—in our case E. coli—which will be able to eat glucose produced from renewable sources likes sugar cane and cereals. We’ll also be looking at other low-cost carbohydrate feedstocks as well.”
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“Even in the lab we can produce enough H2 in a day from a few spoonfuls of sugar, to produce enough energy to charge your mobile phone for up to two weeks,” said Willows.
“BOC is committed to supporting Australian research and development into the production and use of cleaner gaseous fuels for mobility and energy. Renewable H2 is a fuel of the future, and we are proud to share our global expertise with researchers from Macquarie University as they enter this next phase of technology development,” said Alex Dronoff, BOC’s General Manager of H2 and LNG. READ MORE