A hardy enzyme may hold key to creating power out of thin air

A recent scientific breakthrough could see electricity being generated using nothing but the atmosphere, with perhaps a little added hydrogen.

The process involves an enzyme made by bacteria to help them grow and survive in environments including volcanic craters and Antarctica. The enzyme, called Huc, has been found to produce a small electrical current by consuming hydrogen in the air as a source of energy, researchers said in a paper published Wednesday in scientific journal Nature.

It effectively operates like a “natural battery,” the scientists from Monash University in Melbourne said in a Thursday statement.

Of course, producing power from air is nothing new — whether it be by using the wind to spin turbines or rubbing balloons on clothing to produce static electricity — but the way Huc works is different. That’s because, unlike all other known enzymes and catalysts, it’s a “hydrogen gas scavenger” able to use minute concentrations of the gas, according to the study.

“We’ve known for some time that bacteria can use the trace hydrogen in the air as a source of energy,” said Chris Greening, one of the paper’s authors. “But we didn’t know how they did this, until now.”

While it isn’t yet clear how Huc might be applied as a technology to produce electricity, the scientists said the enzyme could potentially power small devices. Supplying extra hydrogen to fuel the microscopic enzyme might mean Huc is one day capable of generating significantly more electricity, they said.

The discovery opens the door to learning more about how the climate works, according to Rhys Grinter, a co-author of the paper. Between 60% to 80% of bacteria in soils have similar enzymes that collectively absorb about 70 million tons of hydrogen each year to shape the composition of the atmosphere, he said.

“Understanding the biochemistry of this process may allow us to harness it to stabilize our climate in the future,” he said.

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