Berkeley Lab Helios Project

In the last 100 years, the Earth warmed up by ~1°C

Temperature over the last 420,000 years

Consumption of Energy Increased by 85% between 1970 and 1999 By 2020, Consumption will Triple

Global energy consumption (1998) Total: 12.8 TW U.S.: 3.3 TW (99 Quads) GasHydro Renewable

Helios Solve the challenge of efficiently generating chemical fuel at low cost using solar energy Photosynthesis cheap but inefficientefficient but expensive Solar Driven Electrolysis

Berkeley Lab Broad-based Energy Strategy Fusion Carbon sequestration Energy Efficiency Computation and Modeling geothermal Fossil recovery Helios

Nanoscience Biology methanol ethanol hydrogen hydrocarbons Carbon dioxide Water

Helios Cellulose Plants Cellulose-degrading microbes Engineered photosynthetic microbes and plants Artificial Photosynthesis Electricity PV Electrochemistry Methanol Ethanol Hydrogen Hydrocarbons

The Target Light-to-Fuel at 10% Power Efficiency $ 3/GJ (= Gasoline at $0.4/ Gallon) Carbon Neutral Manufacturable and Sustainable Storable and Transportable Fuel (energy density Spec.)

Energy Density sorted by Wh/l MaterialVolumetricGravimetric Diesel10,942Wh/l13762Wh/kg Gasoline 9,700 Wh/l 12,200 Wh/kg LNG 7,216 Wh/l 12,100 Wh/kg Propane 6,600 Wh/l 13,900 Wh/kg Ethanol 6,100 Wh/l 7,850 Wh/kg Methanol 4,600 Wh/l 6,400 Wh/kg Liquid H 2 2,600 Wh/l 39,000* Wh/kg Energy Density Spec.

Some benchmarks to consider Biomass-to-fuel: From ~0.35% to 3.6% –At 3.6% efficiency, 100M acres of arable land (25% of total currently farmed land) will supply all fuel for transportation based on current fuel efficiency. Light-to-electricity: 20% efficiency at mass production, $0.02/KWh Electricity-to-chemical storage: –Presently at most 50% energy efficient; over-voltage to drive rates –Water to hydrogen 4 electrons; CO 2 to methanol six electrons Direct solar-to-fuel –Sunlight oxidizing water: 1.23 volts –Overall Power Efficiency Requirement: 10% Fuel interconversion: –95% selective –Greater than10,000 turnovers/sec/site

Combine Nanoscience and Biological Research at LBNL 10 nm

Scale of the Helios problem requires breaking down the stovepipes

Microbial production of fuels Platforms Energy sourcesFuels Sunlight + CO 2 Cellulose Starch Alkanes Alcohols Hydrogen Syngas (CO + H 2 ) E. coli Yeast Synechocystis Archae (methanogen)

Microbial fuels Energy production –Production of hydrogen or ethanol –Efficient conversion of waste into energy –Conversion of sunlight into hydrogen

Lignocellulose Nearly universal component of biomass Consists of three types of polymers: –Cellulose –Hemicellulose –Lignin All three are degraded by bacteria and fungi ComponentPercent Dry Weight Cellulose40-60% Hemicellulose20-40% Lignin10-25%

Lignocellulose

Cellulose harvesting

Cellulose to Fuel Catalysts robust enzymes artificial catalysts Separations Extract ethanol from water Improve upon the microbial degradation of lignocellulosic materials Better microbes selectivity rates reduced toxicity Tractable cellulose decrease crystallinity decrease lignin

Some “natural” biofuels Challenges: To understand the mechanisms (genes and enzymes) of hydrocarbon synthesis in natural organisms  build entirely new pathways Botryococcus braunii

Direct Solar to Fuel Linked light absorption charge transfer catalyst units Biomimetic assembly Integration Into a range of “membranes” ASU

Design of catalytic active sites Biomimetic active site design --embedded in 3D nanostructure for product separation on the nanoscale

Novel Catalytic Microenvironments inorganic dendrimers and micelles Organic dendrimers control fluctuations control “flow” of reactants and products Inorganic channels PNNL

Helios metrics for success Identify key decision points Address showstoppers as quickly as possible Bi-annual international workshops to assess progress Annual plan Milestones and goals for ensuing three years Semi-annual reporting Annual Helios retreat/review with external reviewers The goal of Helios is to provide a significant breakthrough within ten years Science and technology trajectory analysis: Fuels

Berkeley Lab Helios Project Further Information: Elaine Chandler,