Skip to main content

Innovative project for producing fuel from microbes

An innovative project in the UK is aimed at replicating photosynthesis in a bid to produce biofuels. This project is being carried out by a team at the University of East Anglia (UEA), with assistance from the University of Cambridge and the University of Leeds. The intention is to find a simple and efficient process for producing hydrogen, with funding coming from the UK’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences research council. The hydrogen produced using this technology then be used either as a fuel for i
January 23, 2013 Read time: 1 min
An innovative project in the UK is aimed at replicating photosynthesis in a bid to produce biofuels. This project is being carried out by a team at the University of East Anglia (UEA), with assistance from the University of Cambridge and the University of Leeds. The intention is to find a simple and efficient process for producing hydrogen, with funding coming from the UK’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences research council. The hydrogen produced using this technology then be used either as a fuel for internal combustion engine cars or for vehicles with fuel cells. The process is complex and requires fitting micro solar energy converters onto microbes and extensive research will be required before it will be ready for field trials.

Related Content

  • The new Perkins 2606-E13TA engine claims market-leading power density
    April 10, 2025

    The new 2606-E13TA engine from Perkins delivers a market-leading power density according to the firm. This 13litre unit delivers similar outputs to earlier generation 15litre and even 18litre single turbo engines. According to the company: “We have worked with the customers to find out what they need.”

    The engine features a narrow design with the geartrain at the rear and the alternator mounted directly on the block.  

  • Software innovations
    June 22, 2012
    New developments in the software sector will improve construction efficiency. Standards organisation BSI is working with government, industry bodies, and private construction practices to create best practice standards for implementing Building Information Modelling (BIM). In 2011 the UK Government announced that all suppliers that wish to bid for public sector construction contracts must use BIM tools and techniques from 2016, making its implementation commercially critical for companies that wish to apply
  • Promoting advances in sustainable roads worldwide
    April 12, 2012
    Professor Martin Snaith, O.B.E., introduces an annual gathering that has grown over the years to become perhaps the world's foremost professional development forum promoting advances in sustainable roads worldwide. Over more than 15 years the Senior Road Executives Programme (SRE), organised by the internationally renowned Highways Group of the University of Birmingham, UK, in association with IRF, has established a worldwide reputation for providing top-quality professional development for executives worki
  • Florida highway rebuild project
    May 2, 2018
    Rebuilding a congested stretch of highway in Florida will cut congestion and boost safety for commuters - Mike Woof writes. Florida’s 214km-long I-4 highway provides a key transport route between Tampa and Daytona Beach, but has an unenviable reputation for both congestion and safety, with frequent delays due to heavy traffic as well as crashes. The stretch running through the city of Orlando is particularly prone to jams at peak periods, with huge traffic volumes resulting in vehicles having to slow to a c