Engineering Nitrogenase for the Bioelectrocatalytic Reduction of N2 to Ammonia
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Engineering Nitrogenase for the Bioelectrocatalytic Reduction of N2 to Ammonia
PIs: Steven L. Mayo and Douglas C. Rees
Research Team: Olive Cheng, Mikhail Hameedi, Andres Orta, Lucas Schaus, and Rebecca Warmack
Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering and Division of Biology and Biological Engineering
Sunlight to Everything Initiative and Ecology and Biosphere Engineering Initiative
Industrial ammonia production for use as agricultural fertilizer is dominated by the Haber-Bosch process which for all applications consumes ~5% of the global supply of natural gas, makes up ~3% of global CO2 emission and consumes ~1% of the global power supply. Our mission is to replace the Haber-Bosch process with a solar powered bioelectrocatalytic process that utilizes an engineered nitrogenase enzyme to sustainably produce fertilizer that is essential for modern agriculture.