Now it’s time to revolutionize the renewable-energy world with the inclusion of electrofuels. The latest program announced by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (Arpa-e) offers to fund researches that will replace ethanol with diesel as final products using artificial photosynthesis and extremophiles.
Instead of photosynthesis, the initiative will boost the use of microorganisms to produce liquid fuels. One such approach is to pair organisms with solar cells that form organic molecules like methane. Another approach makes extremophiles usable when these are exposed to acidic or hot water. The extremophiles e.g. Metallosphaera sedula break metal sulfides down to produce butanol and other liquid fuels using carbon dioxide.
Finally yet importantly, Arpa-e hopes to rely on artificial photosynthesis, another approach that uses solar energy to make fuel from water and carbon dioxide.
Via: Technology Review