Energy department funds center dedicated to artificial photosynthesis

Nature: Photovoltaic solar panels convert sunlight into electrical energy with efficiencies up to 20%. No photosynthesizing plant, alga, or bacterium can match that efficiency—sugar cane comes closest with 8. But the photosynthesizers have one big advantage over the photovoltaics: Chemical energy in the form of fuel is much easier to store and transport than electrical energy is. Recognizing that advantage, the US Department of Energy has just announced the foundation of the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis. Led jointly by Caltech and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, JCAP will receive $122 million over five years. Its aim, as Nature's Jeff Tollefson reports, will be to develop systems that convert sunlight directly to fuel.