Imperial College of Technology announced on the 28th that the EU and several European companies have launched a total investment of 6 million euros in clean energy projects to develop new technologies for the large-scale production of bio-energy using cyanobacteria.

Cyanophyta is a primitive single-celled organism that can carry out photosynthesis. Previous studies in the United States have attempted to use it to generate clean energy: photosynthesis using genetically modified cyanobacteria can absorb atmospheric carbon dioxide and generate oxygen and alcoholic organics, while alcoholic organics can be used as energy sources.

According to the Imperial College of Technology, which participated in the project, the project was conducted by a number of universities and research institutes. It plans to develop a prototype system within four years. The system includes a bioreactor, and genetically modified cyanobacteria absorb sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide in the reactor to produce alkane and alcohols that can be used as clean fuels.

The two teams at Imperial College will be responsible for the cultivation of special species of cyanobacteria, the optimization of bioreactor designs, and how to more efficiently collect the energy substances produced by cyanobacteria.

Patrick Jones, who is involved in the research, said that if R&D is successful, large-scale clean energy production can be achieved in the future, allowing future vehicles to use bio-energy generated by cyanobacteria to drive various pollutant emissions.