{"id":48373,"date":"2025-09-07T02:08:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-07T02:08:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/48373\/"},"modified":"2025-09-07T02:08:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-07T02:08:09","slug":"an-important-piece-of-the-puzzle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/48373\/","title":{"rendered":"‘An important piece of the puzzle’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Scientists seeking to develop carbon-neutral fuels using artificial photosynthesis have achieved a massive breakthrough, according to a new study<\/a> published in Nature Chemistry.<\/p>\n

Significant technical hurdles remain to be overcome, Oliver Wenger, one of the study’s authors, explained to Phys.org<\/a>, “but we have identified and implemented an important piece of the puzzle.”<\/p>\n

This puzzle piece has come in the form of a new molecule that can hold two positive charges and two negative charges simultaneously after being struck with bursts of light.<\/p>\n

Such a molecule is essential to creating artificial photosynthesis, which would allow scientists to produce carbon-neutral fuels using sunlight.<\/p>\n

Previously, scientists had only succeeded in getting molecules to hold similar electrical charges by using energy-intensive, extremely focused sources of light such as lasers.<\/p>\n

With the new molecule, the researchers were able to use a much dimmer light source that more closely approximated sunlight.<\/p>\n

The breakthrough has brought the prospects of artificial photosynthesis and carbon-neutral fuels one step closer to reality.<\/p>\n

“We hope that this will help us contribute to new prospects for a sustainable energy future,” Wenger told Phys.org.<\/p>\n

Photosynthesis is the process by which plants combine sunlight and carbon dioxide to create energy-rich sugars, which plants (and the animals that feed on them) use for energy. This chemical process provides the foundation for much of the life on Earth.<\/p>\n

Researchers worldwide have been seeking ways to replicate this natural process to produce cleaner sources of energy, including carbon-neutral fuels. In theory, when these fuels are used for energy, they would release only as much carbon as was initially used in their production, making them carbon-neutral.<\/p>\n

According to the UN<\/a>, nonrenewable, extracted fuels like natural gas and coal are responsible for 75% of all heat-trapping pollution and 90% of all planet-warming carbon dioxide that enters the atmosphere.<\/p>\n

In order to reverse the trend of rising global temperatures, it is necessary to transition the world’s economy off of these dirtier fuels and toward cleaner sources of energy.<\/p>\n

While renewables like solar and wind already are producing energy today, carbon-neutral fuels made via artificial photosynthesis could play a key role in powering tomorrow’s cleaner-energy economy.<\/p>\n

Scientists believe that artificial photosynthesis could one day be used to create carbon-neutral fuels like hydrogen, methanol, and even synthetic gasoline, according to Phys.org<\/a>. Such fuels would not necessarily replace the need for renewables like solar and wind, but could be used in applications better suited for those fuels.<\/p>\n

When it comes to reducing heat-trapping pollution, the world needs to adopt an all-of-the-above approach to cleaner, alternative energy sources.<\/p>\n

Regardless of what fuels science has in store for tomorrow, you can start making a difference today by driving an EV<\/a> or installing solar panels<\/a> on your home. Home solar can drop your electricity bill to practically zero while enhancing the cost-saving and environmental benefits of driving an EV.<\/p>\n

EnergySage<\/a> offers free tools that make it easy to compare quotes from solar installers in your area while also ensuring that you take maximum advantage of tax credits and other incentives.<\/p>\n

With federal tax credits for solar ending Dec. 31, 2025, and tax credits for EVs ending Sept. 30, people must act soon to take advantage.<\/p>\n

Join our free newsletter<\/a> for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives<\/strong> and shaping our future<\/strong>, and don’t miss this cool list<\/a> of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Scientists seeking to develop carbon-neutral fuels using artificial photosynthesis have achieved a massive breakthrough, according to a new…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":48374,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[74],"tags":[21618,17829,18,19,17,4567,35853,35852,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-48373","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-technology","8":"tag-artificial-photosynthesis","9":"tag-carbon-dioxide","10":"tag-eire","11":"tag-ie","12":"tag-ireland","13":"tag-scientists","14":"tag-sources-of-energy","15":"tag-sustainable-energy","16":"tag-technology"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48373"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48373\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}