Scientists have discovered an enzyme that is able to convert air into electricity

By isolating it from a bacterium, Australian researchers showed that this enzyme was able to mobilize hydrogen in the air to convert it into energy.

Turning air into electricity? This is what an enzyme can do, according to Australian researchers’ work published in review nature This Wednesday, March 8th. Scientists have already studied the action of soil-dwelling bacteria that mobilize hydrogen in the surrounding air to convert it into energy.

By analyzing the genetic code, the study authors identified, at the origin of this transformation, a specific enzyme called Huc. The authors argue that the latter would be able to “directly produce an electric current when exposed to trace amounts of hydrogen.”

A particular challenge for the research team was to isolate the enzyme from the bacteria. So they had to develop a series of methods to grow these bacteria and then use chemistry to try to isolate the component.

A kind of sustainable natural battery

Even after being extracted from bacteria, Huc will be able to convert small amounts of hydrogen into electricity. The study also showed that the enzyme can be frozen or heated and retains its ability to generate energy.

Thus, for the Australian scientists behind this work, Huc constitutes a kind of sustainable natural battery. “The amount of energy provided by hydrogen in the air will be small, but it is probably enough to power a biometric display, a clock, an LED bulb, or a simple computer,” they say.

With more hydrogen in the source, the authors say, the enzyme “could power larger machines.”

However, this phase one experiment took place in a laboratory setting and on a small scale — to the milligram. Now it is necessary to move to a higher level, the gram scale, with the aim of the kilogram.