These artificial forests turn the sun's energy into oxygen and fuel. The scientific team at the Berkeley Lab created artificial forests that capture solar energy. It is then converted into oxygen and hydrogen, which is then used to power special fuel cells that produce renewable energy. Peidong Yang, chemist and team leader of the project says, "The ‘forest’ is actually nanowire trees which absorbs sunlight and then mimics the natural process of photosynthesis that trees and plants usually perform."
With these artificial forests, an hour of sunlight provides enough energy to power all of the world's needs for a year. All of our problems should be solved but, the problem is capturing it and transforming it into hydrogen cheaper than the cost of mining for fossil fuels. Although there are still bumps in the road, we seem to be coming awfully close to solving many of the issues that we face.
Key Themes Behind This Trend
- Renewable Energy
- The development of artificial forests that capture solar energy and convert it into oxygen and hydrogen for fuel cells presents disruptive innovation opportunities to the renewable energy industry.
- Nanotechnology
- The creation of nanowire trees that absorb sunlight and mimic photosynthesis presents disruptive innovation opportunities to the nanotechnology industry.
- Green Technology
- The potential to provide enough renewable energy to power all of the world's needs for a year through the use of artificial forests presents disruptive innovation opportunities to the green technology industry.
Where This Applies
- Renewable Energy Industry
- The development of artificial forests that capture solar energy and convert it into oxygen and hydrogen for fuel cells presents opportunities for the renewable energy industry to revolutionize the way we create and use energy.
- Nanotechnology Industry
- The creation of nanowire trees that absorb sunlight and mimic photosynthesis presents opportunities for the nanotechnology industry to develop new technologies that can mimic natural processes to create energy.
- Green Technology Industry
- The potential to provide enough renewable energy to power all of the world's needs for a year through the use of artificial forests presents opportunities for the green technology industry to create new sustainable solutions to our energy needs.
