Is bacteria the key to making limitless energy from thin air?

Kropp managed to narrow down a specific gene within the enzyme responsible for sequestering atmospheric hydrogen. ‘Huc forms a large complex, and when we remove it Huc doesn’t form that large complex anymore. It turns out that this component and the complex is really important for how Huc functions in the cells,’ he explained.

Even when isolated from the bacteria, the sample of Huc consumed hydrogen at concentrations far lower than tiny traces in the air. The team also found that it hoovered up specs of hydrogen too faint to be detected by specialist gas chromatographs.

Initially, you may think this is something a select few specialists would be excited by, but the ramifications of this milestone are potentially huge. Bacteria remove a staggering 70 million tonnes of hydrogen yearly from the atmosphere in a process that literally shapes the composition of the air we breathe.

That means that not only could these findings play a significant role in forming modern energy infrastructure without fossil fuels, but also potentially in shaping climate models for future generations.

‘Understanding the biochemistry of this process may allow us to harness it to stabilise our climate in the future,’ says team research leader Dr Rhys Grinter.

In the more immediate future, scaling up Huc quantities from milligrams to kilograms will be the key objective. Over time, this emerging from of ‘natural battery’ could be used to power small electric devices with no manual power supply, and – in the context of an expected hydrogen boom – potentially entire facilities.

‘Once we produce Huc in sufficient quantities,’ Dr Grinter says, ‘the sky is quite literally the limit for using it to produce clean energy.’