Biohydrogen from Cyanobacteria

With the benefit of a generous endowment, we have begun research into the feasibility of using the cyanobacterial system beyond biodiesel for the production of other biofuels and valuable products. This research will explore increasing the capacity of cyanobacteria for direct biohydrogen production using solar energy. This will involve both altering the metabolism of the organism to funnel more energy into the hydrogen production pathway and the introduction of genes from other organisms that have much more robust enzymes involved in hydrogen production. It is expected that initial research over the next few years will result in multiple potential sustainable energy applications not the least of which is to provide a green source of hydrogen for use in potential biohydrogen fuel cells.