BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Talks.cam//talks.cam.ac.uk//
X-WR-CALNAME:Talks.cam
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Electrogenic photosynthetic microorganisms: harnessing solar energ
 y in bio-photovoltaic (BPV) systems - Alistair McCormick\, Plant Metabolis
 m
DTSTART:20110225T130000Z
DTEND:20110225T133000Z
UID:TALK29936@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:15560
DESCRIPTION:There is an urgent need to develop renewable energy technologi
 es to replace depleting fossil fuel resources and provide a carbon neutral
  source of power. Solar energy is an abundant resource that represents an 
 attractive target to supplement this requirement and the development of ef
 ficient solar cell systems to capture even a small fraction of this enormo
 us reserve is currently an important scientific and engineering challenge.
   Some of the key benefits of using biological materials to reach this goa
 l are that the photosensitive components are significantly cheaper than sy
 nthetic analogues (e.g. semi-conductors)\, are self-assembled and\, in som
 e cases\, are capable of self-repair.  A recently established multidiscipl
 inary consortium of groups based in the University of Cambridge has propos
 ed to develop\, test and optimise a novel microbial fuel cell-inspired tec
 hnology that exploits the photosynthetic machinery of intact micro-organis
 ms (unicellular algae and cyanobacteria) for biological solar power and bi
 ofuel generation. Bio-photovoltaic (BPV) cells aspire to be the biological
  alternative to existing synthetic solar cell technologies.  Several key e
 lectrochemical factors limiting performance efficiency\, including the den
 sity of the photosynthetic catalyst\, the electron carrier concentration a
 nd light intensity\, have been investigated for optimising light-driven po
 wer outputs.  Furthermore\, biofilms grown from photosynthetic fresh water
  or marine microorganisms have demonstrated light-driven electrical power 
 generation without the addition of an artificial electron carrier that per
 sisted for several weeks and was highly sensitive to ambient light levels.
   When connected in series\, four BPVs (each 110 cm2) generated enough pow
 er to run a commercial digital clock.  The efficiencies achieved thus far 
 indicate that BPV technology is a viable alternative to biomass-based phot
 obioreactor systems for the harvesting of solar energy.
LOCATION:Department of Plant Sciences\, Large Lecture Theatre
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR