Bill Gates敢伸，?Co-chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

比爾·蓋茨，比爾和梅琳達·蓋茨基金會聯(lián)合主席

Beating Nature at Its Own Game?世界首富與能源未來

The sun was out in full force the fall morning I arrived at Caltech to visit Professor Nate Lewis’s research laboratory. Temperatures in southern California had soared to 20 degrees above normal, prompting the National Weather Service to issue warnings for extreme fire danger and heat-related illnesses.

朝陽已噴薄而出览爵，正釋放出全部熱力蚊荣。在這樣一個秋日的早晨碉输，我到達了加州理工學院，參觀內(nèi)特·劉易斯教授的研究實驗室种冬。 南加州氣溫飆升，比正常溫度高出了20度舔糖。這迫使國家氣象局發(fā)出極端火災預警娱两，提醒民眾注意與高溫有關的疾病。

The weather was a fitting introduction to what I had come to see inside Nate’s lab—how we might be able to tap the sun’s tremendous energy to make fuels to power cars, trucks, ships, and airplanes.

天氣成為我們在內(nèi)特實驗室內(nèi)部尋訪的再好不過的切入點 - 我們?nèi)绾卫锰柕木薮竽芰縼碇圃烊剂辖鹇穑瑸槠囀ぃㄜ嚾たⅲ喆惋w機提供動力。

Stepping into the lab cluttered with computer screens, jars of chemicals, beakers, and other equipment, Nate handed me a pair of safety goggles and offered some advice for what I was about to see. “Everything we do is simple in the end, even though there’s lots of complicated stuff,” he said.

走進布滿了電腦顯示屏旱物，化學品容器遥缕，燒杯和其他設備的實驗室，納特遞給我一副安全護目鏡宵呛，并對我想要了解的內(nèi)容提出了一些建議单匣。 “我們所做的一切最終都很簡單，盡管過程中有很多復雜的東西烤蜕，”他說封孙。

What’s simple is the idea behind all of his team’s research: The sun is the most reliable, plentiful source of renewable energy we have. In fact, more energy from the sun hits the Earth in one hour than?humans use in an entire year. If we can find cheap and efficient ways to tap just a fraction of its power, we will go a long way toward finding a clean, affordable, and reliable energy source for the future.

所謂簡單是指他的團隊研究背后的那個想法：太陽是我們擁有的最可靠，取之不盡的可再生能源讽营。 事實上虎忌，地球在一個小時內(nèi)接收到太陽的能量在比人類在一整年內(nèi)消耗的能量還要多。 如果我們能找到廉價而有效的方法利用其能力的哪怕一小部分橱鹏，我們將給未來尋找清潔膜蠢，可負擔和可靠的能源供給提供很大的幫助。

We are all familiar with solar panels, which convert sunlight into electricity.?As solar panel costs continue to fall, it’s been encouraging to see how they are becoming a growing source of clean energy around the world. Of course, there’s one major challenge of solar power. The sun sets each night and there are cloudy days. That’s why we need to find efficient ways to store the energy from sunlight so it’s available on demand.

我們都熟悉太陽能電池板莉兰，它將陽光轉(zhuǎn)換為電能挑围。隨著太陽能電池板的成本持續(xù)下降，當看到它們正在成為世界范圍內(nèi)不斷增長的清潔能源的來源我們深受鼓舞糖荒。 當然杉辙，太陽能發(fā)電有一個主要的挑戰(zhàn)。 每天晚上都會日落捶朵，云雨的日子也不少蜘矢。這就是為什么我們需要找到有效的方法存儲來自陽光的能量，以便按需取用综看。

Batteries are one solution. Even better would be a solar fuel. Fuels have a much higher energy density than batteries, making it far easier to use for storage and transportation. For example, one ton of gasoline stores the same amount of energy as 60 tons of batteries. That’s why, barring a major breakthrough in battery technology, it’s hard to imagine flying from Seattle to Tokyo on a plug-in airplane.

電池是一種解決方案品腹，而太陽能燃料則是更棒的辦法。 燃料的能量密度遠高于電池红碑，這使它易于存儲和運輸舞吭。 例如，一噸汽油儲存的能量大約與60噸電池的相當析珊。這就是為什么很難想象用充電飛機執(zhí)行從西雅圖飛往東京的飛行任務羡鸥，除非電池科技取得重大突破。

I’ve written before about the need for an?energy miracle?to halt climate change and provide access to electricity to millions of the poorest families who live without it. Making solar fuel would be one of those miracles. It would solve the energy storage problem for when the sun isn’t shining. And it would provide an easy-to-use power source for our existing transportation infrastructure. We could continue to drive the cars we have now. Instead of running on fossil fuels from the ground, they would be powered by fuel made from sunlight. And because it wouldn’t contribute additional greenhouses gases to the atmosphere, it would be carbon neutral.

我曾經(jīng)著文說唾琼，需要能源奇跡來阻止氣候變化兄春，同時為數(shù)百萬生活在無電狀態(tài)下的最貧困家庭提供電力接入。 制造太陽能燃料將是這些奇跡之一锡溯。 這將解決沒有陽光時的能量存儲問題赶舆。它將為我們現(xiàn)有的交通基礎設施提供易用的能量來源哑姚。我們可以繼續(xù)駕駛現(xiàn)在擁有的汽車。他們不是由地下的化石燃料驅(qū)動芜茵，而是由陽光生成的燃料提供動力叙量。由于它不會向大氣釋放額外的溫室氣體，它又將是碳平衡的九串。

Imagining such a future is tantalizing. Realizing it will require a lot of hard work. No one knows if there’s a practical way to turn sunlight into fuel. Thanks to the U.S. Department of Energy, Nate and a group of other researchers around the U.S. are receiving research support to find out if it is possible.

想象這樣的未來圖景是誘人的绞佩。實現(xiàn)它則需要大量的辛勤工作。沒人知道是否有一種將太陽光轉(zhuǎn)化為燃料的切實可行的方法猪钮。多虧了美國能源部對于研究的支持品山，內(nèi)特和美國各地的其他研究人員一道正在探索這是否可能？

We live in a time when new discoveries and innovations are so commonplace that it’s easy to take the cutting-edge research I saw at Caltech for granted. But most breakthroughs that improve our lives—from new health interventions to new clean energy ideas—get their start as?government-sponsored research?like Nate’s. If successful, that research leads to new innovations, that spawn new industries, that create new jobs, that spur economic growth. It’s impossible to overemphasize the importance of government support in this process. Without it, human progress would not come as far as it has.

我們生活在一個新發(fā)現(xiàn)和創(chuàng)新如此常見的時代烤低，這很容易讓大家以為我在加州理工學院看到的這些前沿研究是理所當然的肘交。 但是，就像內(nèi)特的項目一樣扑馁，改善我們生活的大多數(shù)突破 - 從新的健康干預到新的清潔能源想法 - 都是從政府資助的研究開始的涯呻。 一旦成功，這項研究將帶來新的創(chuàng)新腻要，孕育新的行業(yè)复罐，創(chuàng)造新的工作機會，刺激經(jīng)濟增長雄家。在這個過程中不論如何強調(diào)政府支持的重要性都不為過效诅。沒有它，人類的進步不會達到目前這樣的高度趟济。

Nate and his team are still at the first stage of this process. But they have reason to be optimistic about what lies ahead. After all, turning sunlight into chemical energy is what plants do every day. Through the process of photosynthesis, plants combine sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to store solar energy in chemical bonds. At Nate’s lab, his team is working with the same ingredients. The difference is that they need to figure out how to do it even better and beat nature at its own game.

內(nèi)特和他的團隊仍然處于這個過程的第一階段填帽。 但他們有理由對未來前景保持樂觀。 畢竟咙好，植物每天都在把陽光轉(zhuǎn)化為化學能。通過光合作用褐荷，植物將陽光勾效，水份和二氧化碳結合在一起，將太陽能儲存在化學鍵中叛甫。 在內(nèi)特的實驗室层宫，他的團隊正在使用相同的材料。不同的是其监，他們需要想辦法做到青出于藍而勝于藍萌腿。

“We want to create a solar fuel inspired by what nature does, in the same way that man built?aircraft inspired by birds that fly,” Nate said. “But you don’t build an airplane out of feathers. And we’re not going to build an artificial photosynthetic system out of chlorophylls and living systems, because we can do better than that.”

“我們創(chuàng)造太陽能燃料的想法受到了自然界啟發(fā)，就像人們建造飛機的靈感來自于飛鳥抖苦，”內(nèi)特說毁菱。 “但你不會用羽毛來建造飛機米死。我們不會用葉綠素和生物系統(tǒng)來建立人工光合系統(tǒng)，因為我們可以做得更好贮庞。

One of Nate’s students showed me how light can be used to split water into oxygen and hydrogen—a critical first step in the path to solar fuels. The next step would involve combining hydrogen with carbon dioxide to make fuels. Using current technologies, however, it is too costly to produce a fuel from sunlight. To make it cheaper, much more research needs to be done to understand the materials and systems that could create a dependable source of solar fuel.

內(nèi)特的一名學生向我展示了光是如何將水分解為氧氣和氫氣 - 通向太陽能燃料的關鍵的第一步峦筒。下一步將涉及氫氣與二氧化碳組合以制備燃料。然而窗慎，使用當前科技物喷，用陽光生成燃料太過昂貴。為了使它更便宜遮斥，需要做更多的研究峦失，以便理解那些可以用來創(chuàng)造可靠的太陽能燃料來源的材料和系統(tǒng)。

One idea his team is working on is a kind of artificial turf made of plastic cells that could be easily rolled out to capture sunlight to make fuel. Each plastic cell would contain water, light absorbers, and a catalyst. The catalyst helps accelerate the chemical reactions so each cell can produce hydrogen or carbon-based fuels more efficiently. Unfortunately, the best catalysts are among the rarest and most expensive elements, like platinum.?A key focus of Nate’s research is finding other catalysts that are not only effective and durable, but also economical.

他的團隊正在努力的一個想法是用一種由塑料單元制成的人造草皮术吗。它可以很容易地鋪開來以便捕獲陽光尉辑，制造燃料。每個塑料單元都含有水藐翎，陽光吸收劑和催化劑材蹬。催化劑有助于加速化學反應，這樣每個單元可以更高效地產(chǎn)生氫或碳基燃料吝镣。不幸的是堤器，最好的催化劑都是最稀有和最昂貴的元素，如鉑末贾。內(nèi)特研究的一個重點就是尋找高效闸溃，耐用，而且具有經(jīng)濟性的替代催化劑拱撵。

Nate’s interest in clean energy research started during the oil crisis in the 1970s, when he waited for hours in gas lines with his dad. He says he knew then that he wanted to dedicate his life to energy research. Now, he is helping to train a new generation of scientists to help solve our world’s energy challenge. Seeing the number of young people working in Nate’s lab was inspiring. The pace of innovation for them is now much faster than ever before. “We do experiments now in a day that would once take a year or an entire Ph.D. thesis to do,” Nate said.

內(nèi)特對清潔能源研究的興趣始于20世紀70年代的石油危機期間辉川。當時他和他的父親在加油站排隊等待了幾個小時。 他說那是他就知道拴测，他希望把自己的一生投入到能源研究∨移欤現(xiàn)在，他正在幫助訓練新一代科學家集索，幫助解決世界能源挑戰(zhàn)屿愚。看到內(nèi)特實驗室工作的年輕人的數(shù)量是鼓舞人心的务荆。他們現(xiàn)在的創(chuàng)新步伐比以往任何時候都快妆距。 “我們現(xiàn)在一天所做的實驗以前需要一年時間完成或相當于整個博士學位期間的工作量“ 內(nèi)特說。

Still, I believe we should be doing a lot more. We need thousands of scientists following all paths that might lead us to a clean energy future. That’s why a group of investors and I recently launched?Breakthrough Energy Ventures, a fund that will invest more than $1 billion in scientific discoveries that have the potential to deliver cheap and reliable clean energy to the world.

不過函匕，我相信我們應該做得更多娱据。 我們需要數(shù)以千計的科學家沿著所有可能領導我們走向清潔能源未來的道路進行探索。 這就是一群投資者和我最近啟動了“突破能源風險投資公司”（Breakthrough Energy Ventures）的原因盅惜。該基金將投資超過10億美元用于那些有潛力向世界提供便宜中剩，可靠的清潔能源的科學發(fā)現(xiàn)忌穿。

While we won’t be filling up our cars with solar fuels next week or next year, Nate’s team has already made valuable contributions to our understanding of how we might achieve this bold goal. With increased government and private sector support, we will make it possible for them to move ahead with their research at full speed.

我們還不能在下周或明年就用太陽能燃料加滿我們的油箱，但內(nèi)特的團隊已經(jīng)為我們理解如何實現(xiàn)這個大膽的目標做出了寶貴的貢獻咽安。隨著政府和私營部門支持的不斷增加伴网，我們將創(chuàng)造條件讓他們能夠全速推進他們的研究。

This originally appeared on?gatesnotes.com.

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