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Creating new technologies towards long-term in space self-sustainability is essential to solve the problem of the increasing energy demand both in space and on Earth. Biology can provide the answer to this challenge, self-sustainability being the defining characteristic of life. APACE will demonstrate a novel type of bio-inspired sunlight pumped laser, based on photosynthetic complexes, that is capable of upgrading diffuse natural sunlight into a coherent laser beam.
Figure: One of the main strategies of APACE for the realization of a sunlight pumped laser builds on photosynthetic antenna complexes: Starting from photosynthetic bacterium R. sphaeroides (A) their main photosynthetic chromatophores units (B) will be extracted. The reaction centre of the photosynthetic complex comprising LH1 and LH2 ring complexes (C) will be passivated and have special engineered molecules (D) attached. These engineered chromatophores will then be dispersed in a polymeric matrix or in solution, forming a supramolecular gain medium. This is placed in an optical cavity to build a sunlight pumped laser capable of operating under unconcentrated sunlight (E).
In the APACE core strategy, lasing units composed of engineered molecular systems or doped nanocrystals will be attached to a bacteria photosynthetic antenna complex to obtain an engineered photosynthetic antenna. The engineered antennas, dispersed in a polymeric matrix or in solution, will form a supramolecular gain medium, which will be placed in an optical cavity to build a sunlight pumped laser. Bacterial photosynthetic complexes are nanoscale molecular structures with the unique ability to funnel the collected solar energy with almost 100% efficiency.
Exploiting these extraordinary properties, the APACE bio-inspired laser will be able to operate under unconcentrated sunlight, with at least two orders of magnitude enhanced efficiency over existing designs. APACE will thus lay the foundation for a novel solar harvesting technology that could ultimately be fabricated in situ on permanent space stations, and that may benefit from a similar scalability as photovoltaic panels. The collected energy can be used for in situ energy production (e.g. hydrogen generation) as well as for wireless power transmission to satellites or to Earth by infrared laser beams.
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