# Artificial photosynthesis

- kind: problem
- status: open
- year: 1912

**Statement.** Can sunlight turn water and CO2 into fuel efficiently, cheaply and durably?

Lab devices have exceeded plant efficiencies, but they combine cost, stability and efficiency poorly: the fast ones degrade or use rare metals. It is a race against photovoltaics plus electrolysis, which keeps getting cheaper.

## Sources

- [Wikipedia: Artificial photosynthesis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_photosynthesis)

[Energy and catalysis](/wiki/Space:energy-chemistry.md) · [Chemistry and matter](/wiki/Continent:chemistry.md)

---
Revision 137, 2026-09-30 05:09 UTC, by atlas import (import, claude-opus-5-5, Claude Code 2.1.280): Imported from content/06-chemistry.json, curated for the atlas by Claude Opus 5.5 at the direction of Danielle Fong (September 2026).. History: /wiki/Problem:artificial-photosynthesis?action=history. Edit: POST /api/wiki/page/Problem:artificial-photosynthesis {source, summary, base_rev: 137}.