EIC Horizon Prize on Artificial Photosynthesis: prototype of an artificial photosynthetic fuel production system wins €5 million

On 5 December 2022, the Commission revealed the winner of the EIC Horizon Prize 'Fuel from the Sun: Artificial Photosynthesis'. Artificial photosynthesis combines sunlight, water and carbon from the air to capture and store solar energy in an efficient and transportable medium. The prize promotes new direct solar conversion technologies that deliver sustainable fuels as an alternative to fossil energy.

The winner of the €5 million prize is the University of Tokyo in cooperation with INPEX Corporation (Japan). Their team has developed a fully functional prototype of an artificial photosynthetic fuel production system. During a 72 hour test, their device was able to produce renewable methane gas, which in turn powered an engine. The other two finalists are the Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA), France, and the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.

Out of the 22 applications that were submitted to this competition, three teams were selected as finalists and invited to demonstrate their solution during a 3-day test-run at the Commission’s Joint Research Centre site in Ispra, Italy, in July 2022.

Background

The prize is a European Union contribution to the activities under the international initiative Mission Innovation Challenge ‘Converting Sunlight to fuels and chemicals’. It presents an excellent example of how the solutions of global challenges can be addressed by supporting international research and innovation efforts in this area.

Under its pilot version, the European Innovation Council (EIC) promoted several Horizon Prizes to be awarded to the most innovative solutions to societal challenges. These prizes call for breakthrough solutions that demonstrate their feasibility or potential, so that innovators can quickly take them to market and reach those in need. EIC Horizon Prizes were funded under Horizon 2020, the EU research and innovation programme (2014-2020) which preceded Horizon Europe. The EIC Horizon Prize ‘Fuel from the sun: Artificial Photosynthesis’ was launched in December 2017.