UK researchers describe integrated solar reactor where E. coli converts sunlight into energy

June 11, 2026 |

In the UK, a new study led by Queen Mary University of London researchers, published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, describes a new integrated solar reactor in which engineered Escherichia coli (E. coli) are grown directly inside the same liquid that converts CO₂ into a usable energy source using sunlight. In future, this technology may be used to make environmentally clean chemicals, plastics or even microbial protein. The device combines an organic solar cell, a semiconductor electrode, two enzymes, and an engineered bacterium, and converts CO₂ and water into living biomass, reproducing the stages of natural photosynthesis without any plant, alga or photosynthetic microbes.

Tags: , ,

Category: Research

Thank you for visting the Digest.

}