Welcome at the Microbial Electrosynthesis Research Group! This research group is headed by Associate Professor Jo Philips and is part of at the Department of Biological and Chemical Engineering of Aarhus University in Denmark.
The Microbial Electrosynthesis Research Group explores how electricity can be used to power microbes for biotechnologically relevant conversions. We mainly work with acetogenic bacteria, as these microbes can convert CO₂ into acetate using H2 produced by an electrode. In addition, we study Shewanella, a microbe known for its unique extracellular electron transfer pathways.
Our overall goal is to generate fundamental insights into key microbial processes that will enable the optimization of electricity-powered microbial biotechnologies. Our research mainly focuses on hydrogen consumption, energy conservation, extracellular electron uptake mechanisms, and biofilm formation. We use both experimental studies and computational modelling.
Our work is mainly focused on optimizing Microbial Electrosynthesis (i.e. synthesis of organic molecules from CO2 by microbes powered by electricity). In addition, our work is relevant for gas fermentation, microbial corrosion, as well as microbial ecology in general.
Look at Research for more information on our research activities.
