Floating artificial leaves that turn sunlight into water could be used to power cargo ships

Miniaturised, floating artificial leaves that can turn sunlight and water into clean energy could be used to power cargo ships.

University of Cambridge researchers made the devices, which mimic photosynthesis and produce syngas, a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide.

The leaves could be used to produce clean fuel without taking up space on land.

“If we can trim the materials down far enough that they’re light enough to float, then it opens up whole new ways that these artificial leaves could be used," Dr Virgil Andrei of the University of Cambridge said.

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