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Future Directions of Synthetic Biology for Energy & Power Future Directions of Synthetic Biology for Energy & Power March 6–7, 2018 Michael C. Jewett, Northwestern University Workshop funded by the Basic Research Yang Shao-Horn, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Office, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense Christopher A. Voigt, Massachusetts Institute of Technology for Research & Engineering. This report does not necessarily reflect the policies or positions Prepared by: Kate Klemic, VT-ARC of the US Department of Defense Esha Mathew, AAAS S&T Policy Fellow, OUSD(R&E) Preface OVER THE PAST CENTURY, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY HAS BROUGHT RE- MARKABLE NEW CAPABILITIES TO ALL SECTORS OF THE ECONOMY; from telecommunications, energy, and electronics to medicine, transpor- tation and defense. Technologies that were fantasy decades ago, such as the internet and mobile devices, now inform the way we live, work, and interact with our environment. Key to this technologi- cal progress is the capacity of the global basic research community to create new knowledge and to develop new insights in science, technology, and engineering. Understanding the trajectories of this fundamental research, within the context of global challenges, em- powers stakeholders to identify and seize potential opportunities. The Future Directions Workshop series, sponsored by the Basic Re- search Directorate of the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, seeks to examine emerging research and engineering areas that are most likely to transform future tech- nology capabilities. These workshops gather distinguished academic researchers from around the globe to engage in an interactive dia- logue about the promises and challenges of emerging basic research areas and how they could impact future capabilities. Chaired by leaders in the field, these workshops encourage unfettered consid- eration of the prospects of fundamental science areas from the most talented minds in the research community. Reports from the Future Directions Workshop series capture these discussions and therefore play a vital role in the discussion of basic research priorities. Each report addresses the following important questions: • How will the research impact science and technology capabili- ties of the future? • What is the trajectory of scientific achievement over the next few decades? • What are the most fundamental challenges to progress? This report is the product of a workshop held March 6–7, 2018 at the Virginia Tech Executive Briefing Center in Arlington, VA on the future of Synthetic Biology for Power and Energy research. It is intended as a resource to the S&T community including the broader federal funding community, federal laboratories, domestic industrial Innovation is the base, and academia. key to the future, but basic research is the key to future innovation. – Jerome Isaac Friedman, Nobel Prize Recipient (1990) Page 2 vt-arc.org Executive Summary ENERGY IS A FUNDAMENTAL REQUIREMENT OF ALL HUMAN ACTIVITY. Electron Storage Global-scale activities such as transportation, manufacturing, • New electrode-electrolyte interfaces with higher stability and communication require energy to be generated, stored, and • Stable, high capacity battery electrodes delivered on demand and in a use-specific manner. This, com- • Discovery of “beyond Lithium Ion (Li-ion)” chemistries and bined with the ever-changing technology needs of modern society, device concepts that enable high energy density and large- means that energy storage and power delivery modalities must also scale energy storage grow and evolve. Ion Transport Materials As researchers strive to develop ever more sophisticated energy • Non-flammable electrolytes or systems with high transfer- storage and power delivery systems to keep up with demand, ence numbers the emergence of synthetic biology tools and techniques offers • Solid ceramic electrolytes that are stable with Li-ion battery an entirely new design paradigm that harnesses and expands the electrodes inherent abilities and chemistries of living systems to transform • Polymer electrolytes with ionic conductivity on par with liq- and store energy. To explore the potential for synthetic biology to uid and solid ceramic electrolytes address the challenges of energy and power systems, the Office of • Anion (OH–) conducting membranes with ionic conductiv- the Under Secretary of Defense (Research and Engineering) and ity similar to that of protons in Nafion the United Kingdom Ministry of Defense hosted the Future Di- • Solid or liquid electrolytes with wide temperature stability rections Workshop in Synthetic Biology for Energy and Power on windows for safety in military or other demanding applica- March 6-7, 2018 at the Virginia Tech Executive Briefing Center tions in Arlington, VA. Discussions about the potential for synthetic biology approaches This workshop gathered 26 academic, industry, and government to address these challenges focused on the capabilities of four syn- researchers from both the synthetic biology and energy/power thetic biology domains: communities. To promote more dynamic conversations, partici- pants were split into small groups focused on three conceptual do- Bio-inspired Electrocatalysis mains in energy and power research that are also central processes Living systems are catalytically diverse and may shed new insights in living systems: and opportunities for bio-inspired catalytic design or to develop • Electrocatalysis biocatalysts for direct use. The direct coupling of catalysts to elec- • Electron Storage tron transport and exergonic processes will enable the efficient • Ion Transport Materials production of high-energy chemicals, such as novel rocket fuels. Further, novel biological catalysts may bypass the need for rare In each small group, energy/power researchers shared the most earth metals in some manufacturing processes. pressing research challenges facing energy storage and power de- livery. Synthetic biology researchers shared emerging research that Bio-derived Energy Storage Materials could address those challenges. Each working group presented Cellular machinery uses precision synthesis of sequence defined their findings to all workshop participants for a broader discussion polymers to create exquisite materials that surpasses the abilities and synthesis of ideas. This report summarizes the key findings of of traditional chemical methods. This property can be harnessed the energy/power research challenges most amenable to synthetic to develop new high-performance materials for energy and power biology approaches, the current and future capabilities of synthet- platforms. For example, bio-derived conducting polymers could ic biology to address these challenges, and the research trajectory be combined with traditional metal and silicon nanostructures to needed over the next 5, 10 and 20 years to achieve success. accelerate battery development, for needs ranging from low-cost/ low-environmental impact systems for base operations to minia- The key energy/power research challenges that are amenable to syn- turized bio-compatible batteries for medical devices. thetic biology approaches were identified for the three domains as: Bioprocess Engineering Framework Electrocatalysis Successful implementation of synthetic biology for energy and • Catalysts that exhibit faster kinetics, improved selectivity, and power needs will require new bioprocess engineering frameworks no requirement for rare elements that produce bio-derived materials at scale. These frameworks may • Characterization techniques to interrogate and understand also need to include new hybrid chemical/biological processes. catalytic active sites In addition, the ability to synthesize materials on demand in re- • Novel materials and structures that break scaling relation- source-limited settings (i.e., decentralized manufacturing) would ships of reaction intermediates with catalyst surfaces be transformative. Page 3 vt-arc.org Biotic/Abiotic Interface Long-term goals Living systems respond dynamically to their environments. These • Construction of on-site distributed biomanufacturing capabil- processes, such as electron transfer between intracellular and extra- ities that can derive energy from diverse waste sources (10 y) cellular spaces and over long-distances can lead to new solutions for • Bioprocess strategies and flexible manufacturing facilities for similar processes in energy storage and power delivery platforms. the rapid scale-up of biomaterials production (15 y) This technology will underlie long-term deployed sensors, power- • Integration of large-scale chemical and biological processing ing of autonomous vehicles, and functional materials comprised of (15 y) living cells. • Integrated design platforms that simplify the design of a ma- terial to physical specifications and enable the creation of ge- Participants acknowledged that there is a large gap between the netic or bio-catalytic systems at scale (20 y) current capabilities of the synthetic biology toolkit and the envi- • Design integration of scale between the atomic, micro- and sioned capabilities of 10 or 20 years from now. They outlined the macro- domains (20 y) most important technical challenges to be: • Computational frameworks, as well as theory to model and Workshop participants were generally optimistic about the poten- predict biological design of materials tial for synthetic biology to create an entirely new design paradigm • Analytical tools to characterize interfaces and charge transfer for energy and power systems. The
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