South Korean researchers developing artificial photosynthesis to achieve carbon neutrality

In South Korea, researchers are striving to turn artificial photosynthesis technology into reality to achieve carbon neutrality or accomplish a net carbon emission value of zero. Artificial photosynthesis is a technology that mimics natural photosynthesis by using the received sunlight energy to convert carbon dioxide into high-value compounds such as ethylene, methanol, and ethanol. However, economic and technical constraints have allowed the pertinent research to progress only under the laboratory conditions; this research has been classified into the fields of solar cell research and carbon dioxide conversion research. Small-scale research under the laboratory conditions on the implementation of artificial photosynthesis implies that there are still many obstacles that need to be overcome to accomplish practical applications.