NC State Engineer Taps Heat-Loving Bacteria for Hydrogen

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://news.ncsu.edu/news/2008/07/116mkkellyhydrogen.php

News Release

NC State Engineer Taps Heat-Loving Bacteria for Hydrogen

Media Contact(s)

Dr. Robert Kelly, [e-mail] [phone]

Mick Kulikowski, [e-mail] News Services, [phone]

July 30, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

A North Carolina State University engineer has been awarded a $1.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to learn more about the microbiology, genetics and genomics behind how and why heat-loving bacteria called thermotogales produce large amounts of hydrogen with unusually high efficiencies. These microorganisms are found all over the globe in areas which are naturally hot – including volcanic sediments, hot springs and brines from deep oil wells.

The findings could help propel the use of hydrogen for many energy applications, including a new era of automobile travel. Hydrogen-powered cars, which exist in limited and expensive supply, are considered by many to be the holy grail of future vehicle travel.

Figuring out the mechanisms behind thermotogale hydrogen production and exploiting these insights for applications in new hydrogen fuel cells could make hydrogen cars ubiquitous and provide one answer to the global energy crisis, says Dr. Robert Kelly, Alcoa Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at NC State and the principal investigator for the grant.

Kelly will work with colleagues from the University of Connecticut and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to learn more about how the thermatogales consume sugars and produce hydrogen in such efficient ways.

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