Review article

Comparing Photosynthetic and Photovoltaic Efficiencies and Recognizing the Potential for Improvement

Robert E. BlankenshipDepartments of Biology and Chemistry, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USADavid M. TiedeChemical Sciences and Engineering Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439, USAJames BarberDivision of Molecular Biosciences, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK; Department of Material Sciences and Engineering, Polytechnic of Turin, 10129 Turin, ItalyGary W. BrudvigDepartment of Chemistry, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520–8107, USAGraham R. FlemingDepartment of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, and Physical Biosciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USAMaria L. GhirardiBiosciences Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO 80401, USAM. R. GunnerDepartment of Physics, City College of New York, New York, NY 10031, USAWolfgang JungeDivision of Biophysics, University of Osnabrück, D-49069 Osnabrück, GermanyDavid KramerBiochemistry and Molecular Biology and DOE-Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USAAnastasios MelisDepartment of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720–3102, USAThomas A. MooreDepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287–1604, USAChristopher C. MoserDepartment of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USADaniel G. NoceraDepartment of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139–4307, USAArthur J. NozikNational Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO 80401, USA; Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USADonald R. OrtU.S. Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service, Photosynthesis Research Unit, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USAWilliam W. ParsonDepartment of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USARoger C. PrinceExxonMobil Biomedical Sciences, Annandale, NJ 08801, USARichard T. SayreDonald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. Louis, MO 63132, USA

Sciencejournal2011en

ABI

Abstract

Comparing photosynthetic and photovoltaic efficiencies is not a simple issue. Although both processes harvest the energy in sunlight, they operate in distinctly different ways and produce different types of products: biomass or chemical fuels in the case of natural photosynthesis and nonstored electrical current in the case of photovoltaics. In order to find common ground for evaluating energy-conversion efficiency, we compare natural photosynthesis with present technologies for photovoltaic-driven electrolysis of water to produce hydrogen. Photovoltaic-driven electrolysis is the more efficient process when measured on an annual basis, yet short-term yields for photosynthetic conversion under optimal conditions come within a factor of 2 or 3 of the photovoltaic benchmark. We consider opportunities in which the frontiers of synthetic biology might be used to enhance natural photosynthesis for improved solar energy conversion efficiency.

Topics

Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems Microbial Fuel Cells and Bioremediation Energy and Environment Impacts

Identifiers

DOI: 10.1126/science.1200165

Citations and references

Cited by 1 60 references

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