This paper presents a two-step CO₂ electrolyser system that produces a highly concentrated acetate stream with 57% carbon selectivity. This acetate stream is directly used for the heterotrophic cultivation of various organisms, including yeast, mushroom-producing fungus, and green algae, in the dark without inputs from biological photosynthesis. The study finds that carbon from exogenously supplied acetate incorporates into the biomass of nine crop plants through major metabolic pathways. Coupling this system with photovoltaics could increase solar-to-food energy conversion efficiency by about fourfold, reducing the land and solar energy needed for food production.

Elizabeth C. Hann, Sean Overa, Marcus Harland-Dunaway, Andrés F. Narvaez, Dang N. Le, Martha L. Orozco-Cárdenas, Feng Jiao, Robert E. Jinkerson