Solar-driven sugar production directly from CO2 via a customizable electrocatalytic–biocatalytic flow system

Guangyu Liu, Yuan Zhong, Zehua Liu, Gang Wang, Feng Gao, Chao Zhang, Yujie Wang, Hongwei Zhang, Jun Ma, Yangguang Hu, Aobo Chen, Jiangyuan Pan, Yuanzeng Min, Zhiyong Tang, Chao Gao () and Yujie Xiong ()
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Guangyu Liu: University of Science and Technology of China
Yuan Zhong: University of Science and Technology of China
Zehua Liu: University of Science and Technology of China
Gang Wang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Feng Gao: University of Science and Technology of China
Chao Zhang: University of Science and Technology of China
Yujie Wang: University of Science and Technology of China
Hongwei Zhang: University of Science and Technology of China
Jun Ma: University of Science and Technology of China
Yangguang Hu: University of Science and Technology of China
Aobo Chen: University of Science and Technology of China
Jiangyuan Pan: University of Science and Technology of China
Yuanzeng Min: University of Science and Technology of China
Zhiyong Tang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Chao Gao: University of Science and Technology of China
Yujie Xiong: University of Science and Technology of China

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract Conventional food production is restricted by energy conversion efficiency of natural photosynthesis and demand for natural resources. Solar-driven artificial food synthesis from CO2 provides an intriguing approach to overcome the limitations of natural photosynthesis while promoting carbon-neutral economy, however, it remains very challenging. Here, we report the design of a hybrid electrocatalytic−biocatalytic flow system, coupling photovoltaics-powered electrocatalysis (CO2 to formate) with five-enzyme cascade platform (formate to sugar) engineered via genetic mutation and bioinformatics, which achieves conversion of CO2 to C6 sugar (L-sorbose) with a solar-to-food energy conversion efficiency of 3.5%, outperforming natural photosynthesis by over three-fold. This flow system can in principle be programmed by coupling with diverse enzymes toward production of multifarious food from CO2. This work opens a promising avenue for artificial food synthesis from CO2 under confined environments.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-46954-w

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