Genetically modified green algae could one day produce stored energy in the form of hydrogen gas, say Australian researchers, fuelling a hydrogen economy.
Associate Professor Ben Hankamer of the
University of Queensland and colleagues report they have increased the sunlight-capturing efficiency of algae that can pump out hydrogen.
If successfully scaled up, the researchers say this could complement or be an alternative to our present carbon-based economy.
"We urgently need to develop and install new CO2-free energy production systems. Our systems offer one solution for this," the researchers say.
The researchers have been studying single-celled photosynthetic algae (Chlamydomonas reinhardtii).
A major problem is the algae are inefficient at capturing sunlight,
they have now used RNA interference (RNAi) to engineer a strain of algae to make the process more efficient
clipped from: www.abc.net.au 
