Establishment of efficient photoautotrophic biohydrogen production in green algae Among the potential renewable energy sources, photobiological H2 production carried out by algae stands out as an appealing choice, because it does not require arable land and upon the combustion of H2, only pure water is produced. Algal hydrogenases have a very high theoretical efficiency, but it is strongly limited by their extreme O2 sensitivity. Recently, the groups of Dr. Allahverdiyeva-Rinne (University of Turku) and Dr. Szilvia Z. T¢th (BRC Szeged) independently developed two methods to prevent the inactivation of algal hydrogenases by O2, without imposing a severe stress effect on the algal cultures. In the frame of the project, Dr. Val‚ria Nagy will compare the two methods, and further improve them by testing various physiological conditions. In addition, photosynthetic mutants, affected in pathways competing with hydrogen production will be also studied. As an outcome, we expect a very significant improvement regarding the biohydrogen production of green algae.
