A natural enzyme can produce clean energy from thin air

[Alfonso Maruccia]

Forward-looking: A recently discovered enzyme could pave the way for a completely new type of clean energy source. Found in common bacteria, the compound can essentially turn a tiny amount of gas into electric energy. Now, we just need to understand how to produce the enzyme in large enough quantities.

A team of Australian researchers studied the remarkable ability of a bacterium classified as Mycobacterium smegmatis to survive harsh environmental conditions. They eventually discovered that the main drive for the bacterium's survival abilities was an enzyme they named Huc, which can essentially convert air into electric energy.

Enzymes are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions. We've known for some time that bacteria can use the trace hydrogen in the air as a source of energy in nutrient-poor environments, the researchers said, making them grow and survive in severe conditions like Antarctic soils, volcanic craters, and even the ocean depths.

Until now, however, we didn't know exactly how bacteria could turn hydrogen into life-sustaining energy. Led by Dr. Rhys Grinter, the team of researchers from the Monash University Biomedicine Discovery Institute in Melbourne, Australia, managed to discover and study the chemical structure of Huc, the hydrogen-consuming enzyme sustaining Mycobacterium smegmatis' primitive metabolism.

Huc, it turns out, is an "extraordinarily efficient" catalysts that can turn hydrogen gas into an electrical current. Unlike all other known enzymes and chemical catalysts, the researchers explained, it even consumes hydrogen below atmospheric levels – "as little as 0.00005% of the air we breathe."

By using several cutting-edge analysis methods, the Australian team was able to uncover Huc's molecular blueprint for atmospheric hydrogen oxidation. The researchers discovered the atomic structure and electrical pathways, creating the most resolved enzyme structure reported to date.

They also found that the purified Huc enzyme can be stored for long periods of time, as it has an "astonishingly stable" chemical structure which can be frozen or even heated to 80 degrees Celsius. Either way, the enzyme retains its ability to create energy from Hydrogen molecules.

In their study, the researchers are clearly hinting at "atmospheric H2 oxidation" as a possible source of clean and environmentally sustainable energy. Huc could work as a "natural battery" to produce a sustained electrical current from air or "added hydrogen," the team explained. Now they just need to understand how to scale up enzyme production. It shouldn't be too complex of a job, as bacteria like Mycobacterium smegmatis are common and can be grown in large quantities.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/97889-natural-enzyme-can-turn-hydrogen-electricity.html

 

[letsgoiowa]

They really picked the worst name possible for this bacterium. Who wants to be called Smegmatis? All I can think of is SMEGMA

 

[Plutoisaplanet]

Unfortunately this is unlikely to be successful on a meaningful commercial scale. The problem is gases are not dense at all. I’m sure a fuel supply would be needed but this does not address fuel storage (which Hydrogen makes very tricky). I hope they keep up the research though, I’d love to be proven wrong.

 

[kiwigraeme]

They really picked the worst name possible for this bacterium. Who wants to be called Smegmatis? All I can think of is SMEGMA

That's what it was named after - only biosafety level one - so just wash with soap and water - Though being a mycobacterium it is related to TB- but it it's easy to grow and multiplies fast

 

[VariableSpike]

Unfortunately this is unlikely to be successful on a meaningful commercial scale. The problem is gases are not dense at all. I’m sure a fuel supply would be needed but this does not address fuel storage (which Hydrogen makes very tricky). I hope they keep up the research though, I’d love to be proven wrong.

It seems the intent would be for harvest of the existing hydrogen present in the atmosphere along with supplied hydrogen to generate grid power or something along those lines it seems, rather than to power a vehicle, so considering we already have natural gas supplied to homes, replacing that supply with hydrogen (which some governments want to do instead of Hest pumps to my knowledge) is not an impossible task

 

[EdmondRC]

This finally gives the government a reason to tax air, and they will no doubt.

 

[Gars]

'now, we need to...'

 

[PurpleYoda]

So.. a bacteria that grows and multiplies quickly, turns air into electricity and they want to mass produce it… I don’t know but this sounds like ice-nine to me (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat%27s_Cradle)… it can be frozen, it can withstand 80 Celsius degrees… yeah, lets continue the research, I mean, what can go wrong?? 8-:O

 

[psycros]

People talking about the issue of hydrogen storage aren't fully grasping the concept here. First off, we already know how to store hydrogen, and while its not super cost-effective because of the refrigeration, we can do it when neccesary. This novel bacterium transforms hydrogen into current within itself, and theoretically that current could be siphoned off just as it can be from an electric eel. What will be needed are high-density capacitors to store the power once the organism is being grown at a large scale, and that probably won't happen until a far superior strain has been genetically engineered. What this discovery gives us is nature's basic recipe for converting hydrogen to electricity through a totally organic process. It will take years to find out if its a viable long-term solution to global power and pollution issues. If that bears fruit then it will probably take decades to commercialize. A clean, techno-organic future is the stuff of sci-fi dreams. We just have to make sure we don't end up enabling our power plants catch a cold.

 

[mattferg]

It seems the intent would be for harvest of the existing hydrogen present in the atmosphere along with supplied hydrogen to generate grid power or something along those lines it seems, rather than to power a vehicle, so considering we already have natural gas supplied to homes, replacing that supply with hydrogen (which some governments want to do instead of Hest pumps to my knowledge) is not an impossible task

Yes it is - it’s basically an entire new network, as the hydrogen molecule is so small compared to natural gas - this means the existing pipes are redundant.

Makes far more sense to switch to heat pumps and invest in a better grid.

 

[mattferg]

People talking about the issue of hydrogen storage aren't fully grasping the concept here. First off, we already know how to store hydrogen, and while its not super cost-effective because of the refrigeration, we can do it when neccesary. This novel bacterium transforms hydrogen into current within itself, and theoretically that current could be siphoned off just as it can be from an electric eel. What will be needed are high-density capacitors to store the power once the organism is being grown at a large scale, and that probably won't happen until a far superior strain has been genetically engineered. What this discovery gives us is nature's basic recipe for converting hydrogen to electricity through a totally organic process. It will take years to find out if its a viable long-term solution to global power and pollution issues. If that bears fruit then it will probably take decades to commercialize. A clean, techno-organic future is the stuff of sci-fi dreams. We just have to make sure we don't end up enabling our power plants catch a cold.

If we still need capacitors or batteries to store this, it’s redundant.

This is ignoring the fact that generating the hydrogen has been the main obstacle…

 

[Biostud]

I thought the problem largely was the reverse, how to create hydrogen with electricity in a energy efficient way.

 

[OortCloud]

Smegmatis eh.... Red Dwarf would have a field day with this one.

 

[kiwigraeme]

Yes it is - it’s basically an entire new network, as the hydrogen molecule is so small compared to natural gas - this means the existing pipes are redundant.

Makes far more sense to switch to heat pumps and invest in a better grid.

That's true - but does anyone pipe hydrogen? - A lot of work to compress it to a a high energy density - eg stored in nano carbons - Toyota etc still has high hopes for hydrogen - but maybe trucks - Hydrogen in the near future will be specialised - even help that grid with local boosting .
Does sound good some bacteria chugging away - Hydrogen
Hydrogen + Oxygen equals water no CO2

Add in some remote solar panels using electricity , catalysis etc pumping out hydrogen and oxygen maybe

t's tech we will need somewhere --space/Mars ??

 

[bexwhitt]

It seems the intent would be for harvest of the existing hydrogen present in the atmosphere along with supplied hydrogen to generate grid power or something along those lines it seems, rather than to power a vehicle, so considering we already have natural gas supplied to homes, replacing that supply with hydrogen (which some governments want to do instead of Hest pumps to my knowledge) is not an impossible task

There is very little Hydrogen in the atmosphere due to it being so light it escapes to space. About only 0.55 parts per million

 

[Bobbydpue]

"Now they just need to understand how to scale up enzyme production. It shouldn't be too complex of a job, as bacteria like Mycobacterium smegmatis are common and can be grown in large quantities." I'm certain it's massively complex. If it wasn't this story would be about generators made from this enzyme already.

 

[Hodor]

Smegmatis eh.... Red Dwarf would have a field day with this one.

Legendary series. There isn't a single sci-fi topic they didn't address in the series. I just want a few doses of that luck virus.

 

[Hodor]

Unfortunately this is unlikely to be successful on a meaningful commercial scale. The problem is gases are not dense at all. I’m sure a fuel supply would be needed but this does not address fuel storage (which Hydrogen makes very tricky). I hope they keep up the research though, I’d love to be proven wrong.

Of course that it's useless technology. Governments and institutions only fund useless crap. If you by accident invented a properly working low-temperature fusion reactor, not only you wouldn't get funded, but they'd ban your invention. Governments and various organizations spend lots of money on crap inventions, but they are very careful not to finance something that would produce reliable renewable energy in sufficient quantities.