Artificial photosynthesis of carbohydrates using microfluidic chip

TECHNOLOGY SUMMARY

Food production relies heavily on natural photosynthesis of green crops, but its energy efficiency is low (~1%) due to low activity of the enzyme RuBisCO. Our innovation can replicate natural photosynthesis using an integrated microfluidic system with more controllability and much-improved energy efficiency.

AREA/MATURITY/AWARDS

Primary Application Area: Energy, Infrastructure, Resilience

Technology Development Status: Concept

Technology Readiness Level: TRL 3

Vetted Programs/Awards: - Innovation Award, IOO International Society and IMCO2018 conference, 2018.
- Best Paper Award, Yujiao Zhu, The 9th International Multidisciplinary Conference on Optofluidics (IMCO2019), 2019, Hong Kong.
- Cheminas Best Poster Awards, Yujiao Zhu, and Xuming Zhang, The 8th International Symposium on Microchemistry and Microsystems (ISMM2016), 2016, Hong Kong.


SHOWCASE SUMMARY

Organization Type: Academic/Gov Lab

Website: https://www.polyu.edu.hk/


GOVT/EXTERNAL FUNDING SOURCES

External Funding to Date: Donation from Chongqing Huiyulan Survey & Planning Consultancy Co. Ltd. (重慶繪渝藍勘測規劃諮詢有限責任公司) to work on the project “Development of New Technology for Better Life”, HKD220,000.