(ORDO NEWS) — Researchers at Monash University in Australia have discovered a new enzyme that can use the tiny amount of hydrogen available in the air to generate energy.
This could lead to the development of devices that could literally generate electricity out of thin air.
The discovery is of increasing importance as the world looks for innovative ways to move away from fossil fuels and move towards non-carbon energy sources.
While technologies such as solar and wind expand their applications, they are limited by intermittency issues, meaning they cannot generate power continuously or on demand.
The enzyme-based power generation device can be turned on and off at will, similar to a power generator.
A new source of clean energy
For years, researchers have known that bacteria living in nutrient-poor regions use hydrogen from the atmosphere as an energy source.
This has been observed in extreme environments, such as in the soil of Antarctica, in volcanic craters and deep in the oceans. However, the exact mechanism of how they use hydrogen was not known.
Researchers at Monash University’s Institute for Biomedical Discovery turned to the common soil bacterium Mycobacterium smegmatis to investigate this further, and isolated an enzyme called Huc that can convert hydrogen gas into electrical current.
The researchers also found that when purified, the enzyme was very stable and could withstand extreme temperatures. In laboratories, enzymes are usually frozen below -20 degrees Celsius to keep them stable.
The researchers found that the Huc enzyme can remain stable at temperatures up to 80 degrees Celsius and generate electricity in the presence of hydrogen.
The researchers called the enzyme a “natural battery” that can generate a constant electric current using hydrogen. This will likely lead to the development of small air-powered devices that will generate electricity.
While new technologies require many technical innovations before they can be scaled up, the Huc enzyme is found in organisms that are abundant in soil and can also be grown in large quantities for use in many devices at the same time.
Previously, scientists from the research laboratory of Matsushita Electric developed a device that allows you to generate electricity from human blood.
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