“Artificial Leaf” Could Be Major Step to Produce Sustainable Fuel

University of Cambridge researchers in England have demonstrated that a widely-used gas – syngas – can be produced sustainably without the use of fossil fuels, bringing them one step closer to developing an eco-friendly liquid fuel alternative to petrol.

“You may not have heard of syngas itself but every day, you consume products that were created using it. Being able to produce it sustainably would be a critical step in closing the global carbon cycle and establishing a sustainable chemical and fuel industry,” says Professor Erwin Reisner from Cambridge’s Department of Chemistry, who has spent seven years working on this mission.

The researchers have shown that syngas – used to produce fuels, pharmaceuticals, plastics and other commodities – can be produced by an “artificial leaf” that uses only sunlight, carbon dioxide and water. Unlike the industrial method of producing syngas, the leaf does not release any additional carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.