This NSF Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) Project Grant award of $150,000 to the Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York is part of the NSF-wide Clean Energy Technology Initiative. The award supports an early-concept research project to investigate if light can be used by newly designed proteins to upgrade the electrons in the cellular waste material, hydrogen peroxide, to provide electrons for reductive reactions in engineered bacteria. This could dramatically boost the efficiency of biofuel and biochemical production from carbohydrates in photobioreactors. Specific tasks include developing an E. coli strain platform to control and monitor hydrogen peroxide production, creating and validating a synthetic photoprotein for lactate production, and demonstrating that hydrogen peroxide is an untapped source of electrons that can be utilized for NADH regeneration. The project aims to explore this transformative concept which could lead to a broad range of future biochemical engineering applications. The award period is from August 1, 2024 to July 31, 2026.
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