A team at University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) have genetically engineered a microorganism that converts carbon dioxide into isobutanol and 3-methyl-1-butanol, both of which could be used as a fuel source for cars, or other combustion engines.

Called Ralstonia eutropha H16, the bacterium uses electricity to fixate carbon dioxide into alcohols (which are merely carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen arranged in a different order). In theory the hydrogen atoms could be produced by solar panels, but for safety reasons the team instead created formic acid using electricity. The bacteria feasts on the formic acid to produce the combustible alcohol.

In essence, if we cut through the science, the UCLA researchers have created an electro-bioreactor that turns electricity into liquid fuel. In a world that wants to use electricity instead of gasoline, but where the infrastructure just isn’t there yet, this bacterium could be the perfect stepping stone. Imagine a car that converts CO2 into fuel as it drives along, either as a hybrid setup or as the primary power source. It also opens up the possibility of near-infinite fuel cells that could replace lithium-ion batteries.

With regards to solar power replacing the formic acid, James Liao, the project’s lead researcher, leaves us a bit confused. “We’ve been able to separate the light reaction from the dark reaction and instead of using biological photosynthesis, we are using solar panels to convert the sunlight to electrical energy, then to a chemical intermediate, and using that to power carbon dioxide fixation to produce the fuel,” Liao said. In short, it sounds like you could have a car with solar panels on the roof, and they could drive the creation of liquid fuel that could then be used to power the car’s engine.

Finally, it’s important to note that while converting carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas) into fuel sounds like a good idea, remember that you then have to burn the fuel to use it (thus releasing CO2 again). Still, with the price of crude oil continuing to rise, biomass refinery (using bacteria to convert waste into useful chemicals) is definitely an important endeavor. The next step for UCLA, incidentally, is to see if they can build a scaled-up up version of their electro-bioreactor.

Read more at UCLA, the actual research paper at Science (paywalled), or Hacker News (mainly discussion on the difficulties of carbon capture)