Photoelectrochemical water splitting systems for the sustainable growth of hydrogenotroph biomass

An important and presently not yet deeply investigated application of photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting is the use of the generated hydrogen to feed a population of hydrogenotroph bacteria. Such bacteria exist in a sufficient variety to satisfy different demands, from fuel components to edible and highly proteic biomass.
The need for sustainable food production techniques is an urgent matter, as our planet is expected to produce enough nourishment to sustain 9 billion people by 2050, while at the same time reducing the carbon footprint of the population.
We developed a PEC cell equipped with a bioreactor, demonstrating the growth of a Rhodococcus Opacus population with forced electrolysis over the span of several days: the present focus is on the engineering progress of the working electrode, a stack of semiconductor thin films with noble metal co-catalyst nanoparticles, to match both the durability and the solar-to-hydrogen efficiency necessary to the self-sustainability of the system.