Scientists Make Food and Plastic From Sunlight and CO₂

Scientists at Queen Mary University of London just cracked a problem that could change how we make everything from plastics to food.

Dr. Lin Su and her team engineered a solar reactor that grows bacteria by feeding them pure sunlight and carbon dioxide. No plants, no algae, just synthetic photosynthesis happening inside a device smaller than most lab equipment.

Here's what makes it revolutionary. The reactor uses a solar cell to split water into oxygen, which the bacteria breathe. At the same time, enzymes convert CO₂ into formate, a chemical the bacteria eat to grow. The entire process runs on sunshine with no external power needed.

Traditional approaches to combining light absorbers with living microbes hit a wall because metal catalysts poisoned the bacteria. Su's team solved this by using biocompatible materials and isolated enzymes instead, creating a safe environment where bacteria and chemistry work together.

The bacteria they chose, E. coli, isn't naturally photosynthetic. But that's actually the advantage. Scientists can reprogram these bacteria to produce specific chemicals, medicines, or proteins instead of just making more bacteria. It's like having a tiny factory you can customize for different products.

The Ripple Effect

This technology addresses two urgent problems at once. It pulls CO₂ from the atmosphere while replacing fossil fuel-based manufacturing with clean production.

The reactor could eventually produce bioplastics, complex chemicals, and nutritional proteins all from sunlight and waste carbon dioxide. Industries currently dependent on petroleum could shift to solar-powered biological manufacturing instead.

Dr. Celine Wing See Yeung from the University of Cambridge, who collaborated on the project, describes it as bringing together materials chemistry and synthetic biology to build solar-powered chemical refineries. Professor Erwin Reisner notes the system charts a path toward semi-biological platforms that make high-value chemicals from CO₂ instead of oil.

The reactor currently runs for hours rather than weeks, and yields remain modest. But the proof of concept published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society shows the approach works.

The modular design means every component can be improved independently. Scientists can tune the solar cell for better light capture, evolve enzymes for higher efficiency, and rewire bacterial metabolism for new products. Each upgrade makes the entire system more powerful.

What started as a lab experiment could become the foundation for green chemistry at scale, turning greenhouse gas into the products we need while leaving fossil fuels in the ground.