Natural vs. Artificial Photosynthesis? Metabolic & Efficiency Limits of Biomass vs. Solar Fuels

" Universal rules govern the efficiency of metabolic processes among all organisms in the tree-of-life, including natural photosynthesis. The low efficiency of photosynthesis, below 1% solar to biomass conversion, is inherent in the disparate timescales of photonic vs biochemical reactions. Overcoming this fundamental limitation has met with little success. Can we discover (or create) a Usain Bolt of photosynthesis and harness it for agriculture? Here we will describe metabolic outliers capable of significantly higher solar-to-biomass conversion rates over short periods. In contrast to natural photosynthesis, the steps in artificial photosynthesis operate at closer timescales, achieving higher solar-to-chemical conversion efficiency, but make far simpler products and require rarer elements. Can mankind make realistic projections and rational choices between these approaches that avoids converting Earth into a monoculture of low efficiency crops, while feeding the world and developing higher efficiency artificial photosynthesis? Life -the most complex form of matter in the universe – is on course for its inevitable extinction, unless we humans, the chosen ones, can agree to live within the limits of these rules."