University of Hawai'i University Relations Media & Publications Honolulu, HI 96822	(808) 956-8856 Telephone (808) 956-3441 Facsimile ur@hawaii.edu E-Mail
Contact: Oskar Zaborsky, (808) 956-8146	Air Date: June 19, 1997

Developing Bioreactor Systems to Produce Hydrogen for Energy Scientists have learned how microalgae and bacteria produce hydrogen, thus an environmentally benign method for generating energy is possible. The challenge now is to develop a sustainable biohydrogen system that can operate continuously. Hawaii Natural Energy Institute is exploring a process, dubbed the Hawai'i Process, which uses water, cyanobacteria and sunlight. The algae use solar energy to accumulate carbohydrates, then release the stored energy as hydrogen in a two stage process. Research will focus on design of a sustainable bioreactor system and identification and improvement of microbial strains that grow and then produce hydrogen effectively. The HNEI project is the largest hydrogen photobioreactor effort in the United States and has ties to Japan. The UH team will also host an international conference, BioHydrogen '97, in Kona June 23&endash;26. This is the University Report, I'm Tracy Orillo Donovan.

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