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With modern genetic engineering tools, microorganisms can become resilient green cell factories to produce sustainable biofuels directly. Compared to non-engineered algae and cyanobacteria, the photon conversion efficiency can be significantly increased. Furthermore, simplified harvesting processes are feasible since the novel microorganisms are excreting the biofuels or their precursors continuously and directly into the cultivation media. Along with higher productivity and direct product harvesting, it is expected that environmental benefits can be achieved, especially for climate protection. A life cycle assessment (LCA) for biobutanol production with the genetically engineered cyanobacteria Synechocystis PCC6803 is performed to test this hypothesis. A prospective and upscaled approach was applied to assess the environmental impacts at large-scale production (20 ha plant) for better comparability with conventional butanol production. The LCA results show that the engineering of microorganisms can improve the environmental impact, mainly due to the higher productivity compared to non-engineered cyanobacteria. However, the nevertheless high electricity demand required for the cultivation and harvesting process overcompensates this benefit. According to the scenario calculations, a more favourable climate gas balance can be achieved if renewable electricity is used. Then, greenhouse gas emissions are reduced to 3.1 kg CO2 eq/kg biobutanol, corresponding to 20% more than the fossil reference: (2.45 kg CO2 eq./kg 1-butanol). The results indicate the importance of genetic engineering and the energy transition towards renewable electricity supply to take full advantage of the environmental potential of microorganisms as future green cell factories for sustainable biofuel production. Besides, the necessity of developing different scenarios for perspective and upscaled LCA for a fairer comparison with mature reference technologies is demonstrated.

The EU Horizon2020 consortium PHOTOFUEL joined academic and industrial partners from biology, chemistry, engineering, engine design, and lifecycle assessment, making tremendous progress towards engine-ready fuels from CO2 via engineered photosynthetic microbes. Technical, environmental, economic, and societal opportunities and challenges were explored to frame future technology realization at scale. Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

This paper analyses public visions of microalgae as a food source to explain present innovation paths of a yet unproven scientific technology. The paper highlights the multi-perspectivity of contested futures, focusing on the role of generalized narratives as boundary objects. Using disaggregative policy Delphi, we reveal the key-narratives of microalgae nutrition with regard to expectability, desirability, and popularity. The study involved a two-round online survey with 229 participants, who were asked open and closed questions. We then clustered the answers and gave feedback in form of generalized narratives. Participants want microalgae to sustainably feed the world, while they also expect microalgae to be more likely a health product or an inconspicuous food substitute. Our findings show that Delphi methods are not only suitable to look into the future, but also for empirical research into perspectives on the future that help distinguish and hone the cognitive interest of politicians and researchers.

The environmental sustainability of the microalgae Nannochloropsis oceanica cultivation for total fatty acid (TFA) production was analyzed using life cycle assessment (LCA). Pilot data provided by the plant operator from cultivation in Italy using Green Wall Panel (GWP®) photobioreactors were upscaled to a 20-ha production process, and an LCA was conducted and assessed for the Italian regions of Tuscany and Sicily. Two additional scenarios were modelled to analyze the influence of more sustainable framework conditions, respectively nutrient recycling and renewable energy supply. The results show that environmental impacts per functional unit are around 15% less at the site with optimal growth conditions. Between 60 and 80% of the impacts are due to the energy demand during plant operation, infrastructure, and nutrient demand. Nutrient recycling and the gain of an energy credit from the separated biocrude with the hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) process reduce the environmental impacts in all six International Reference Life Cycle Data System (ILCD) impact categories by an average of 11% compared to a scenario without nutrient recycling. The additional consideration of a renewable energy supply allows for an average reduction of 36% and together with the nutrient recycling of an average of 45% for the global warming potential (GWP) and most of the other impact categories.

To improve the sustainable management of phosphorus, numerous LCA studies, using primary data, have been conducted for phosphorus recovery technologies from wastewater, but not for phosphate rock mining.This article addresses this issue by conducting a cradle to gate assessment of beneficiated phosphate rock production using primary data. This study aims to share an updated Life Cycle Inventory dataset of beneficiated phosphate rock production.The studied system is the open-pit mining operations and the wet beneficiation process located in the south of Tunisia. The functional unit is 1 kg of P2O5. Twelve environmental impact categories were assessed using the ReCiPe Midpoint method.The results of Life Cycle Inventory show that the average loss of phosphorus between mining operations, mechanical preparation, and the wet beneficiation is 0.3 kg of P2O5 per 1 kg P2O5. The losses occur mainly during the scrubbing and hydrocycloning. Compared to the production system in Florida, USA, according to the Ecoinvent database 3.4, the production of 1 kg P2O5 in Tunisia has higher Global Warming Potenzial, higher water depletion potential, higher PM10 emission, Photochemical oxidant formation, soil pollution potential, and human toxicity potential.In conclusion, primary data shows comparable results to the generic Life cycle Inventory of wet beneficiation phosphate rock in the Ecoinvent database. This study contributes to enlarge data about sedimentary phosphate rock extraction and beneficiation globally as currently only the USA and Morocco were reported in databases.

Precise orbit determination is vital for the increasingly vast number of space objects around the Earth. Moreover, accurate orbit prediction of GNSS satellites is essential for many real-time geodetic applications, including real-time navigation. The typical way to obtain accurate orbit predictions is using physics-based orbit propagators. However, the prediction errors accumulate with time because of insufficient modeling of the changing perturbing forces. Motivated by the rapid expansion of computing power and the considerable data volume of satellite orbits available in recent years, we can apply machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) algorithms to assess if they can be used to further reduce orbit errors. In this study, we focus on the orbit prediction of GNSS constellations. We investigate the potential of using different ML and DL algorithms for improving the accuracy of the ultra-rapid products from IGS. As ground truth we consider the IGS final products, and the differences between the ultra-rapid and final products are computed and serve as targets for the ML/DL methods. In this context, we combine the advantages of physics-based and data-driven ML/DL methods. Since the major errors of GNSS orbits are expected to be caused by the deficiency of solar radiation pressure models, we consider different related parameters as additional features to implicitly model the solar impact, such as the C0,0 terms of global ionosphere maps. In order to accurately model the effect of solar radiation pressure on the radial, along-track and cross-track components of the satellite orbit system, the geometric relation between the Sun, the satellite and the Earth are also considered. Furthermore, the performances of different ML/DL algorithms are compared and discussed. Due to the temporal characteristics of the problem, certain sequential modeling algorithms, such as Long Short-Term Memory and Gated Recurrent Unit, show superiority. Our approach shows promising results with average improvements of over 40% in 3D RMS within the 24-hours prediction interval of the ultra-rapid products., EGUsphere

This work investigates microalgae’s potential to reduce North-Western Europe environmental burden from excess nitrogen polluting groundwater and provide an environmental replacement for current animal feed. Algae uptake nutrients from nutrient-rich digestate from biogas plants and turn them into high-value feedstock, which can substitute soybean meal imported from overseas and avoid deforestation of rainforests. Life cycle assessments were conducted based on novel and original data from engineers in academia and industry, acquired through pilot-scale research facilities in the UK, France, and Belgium. The findings of this study highlight the environmental impacts of three different technologies with varying scales of production. Mixotrophic algal feed production shows higher productivities and fewer energy demands than the phototrophic systems. Still, the process is less favourable due to higher impacts on human health and ecosystems than imported soybean meal, whereas the impact on resources is more negligible. Sensitive analysis indicates that further technological development, increased productivities, and renewable energy use can improve the environmental competitiveness of algal feedstock. Since this process is a promising solution for making feedstock out of excess nutrients and having an alternative source for imported soybean meal with a comparable, efforts to realize these improvements and successfully upscaling algal feedstock production in combination with biogas plants are justified and can improve the environmental footprint of algal biomass production.

Despite the technical feasibility of renewable energy technologies and their contribution to climate-friendly power production public opposition can be a hurdle for new installations of renewable e...

Microalgae have a great potential for the sustainable production of food and fuel for a growing world population with increasing demands and changing habits. Since they are cultivated in technical systems, they do not contribute to land use competition, loss of biodiversity, and environmental pollution like other food and energy crops. Despite these advantages, the commercialization of algae technology is still in an infant stage. Algae fuel production has so far failed due to low oil prices and lack of economic viability. However, integrated food and fuel production is considered promising because the food market is more diversified and open to new and innovative products than the energy market. Integrated food and fuel production from microalgae can not only achieve higher returns on investment but also greater acceptance than fuel production alone. From the sociotechnical point of view, it is however crucial that the integrated algae production system will fulfill the promises of health and sustainability. To achieve this, a codesign approach is used, considering public perception and the views, knowledge and values of citizens and stakeholders already at an early stage in the research and innovation process.

In regions with favourable subsurface condition, geothermal resources provide a significant contribution to the reduction of man-made CO2 emissions. Its economic utilization often requires reservoir engineering that bears the risk of a number of environmental challenges such as induced seismicity, groundwater pollution or radioactive scaling.In order to develop a socially feasible geothermal utilization concept in the Upper Rhine Graben close to the city of Karlsruhe we designed a research approach in which interdisciplinary (between natural and social sciences) knowledge production is combined with transdisciplinary knowledge production. This means that besides the collaboration of scientists of various disciplines, stakeholder and citizens s from surrounding communities get the possibility to take part in the project through workshops and interviews. The results of those transdisciplinary interactions will be integrated through translation into technical parameters in the technical design of a geothermal utilization concept. For the development of utilization scenarios, technical criteria were adopted into technical parameter ranges. Furthermore, socio-ecological criteria such as “no induced seismicity” are translated into technical parameters by an experience-based approach. The resulting scenarios are substantiated by numerical models that address the energy outcome. They will be reflected in a second stakeholder workshop. Finally, recommendations for a geothermal heat utilisation concept will be formulated.

Patent documents provide knowledge about which countries are investing in certain technologies and make it possible to identify potential innovation trends. The aim of this article is to analyze trends in patenting that might result in innovations for three energy technologies: thermochemical conversion of biomass (Bioenergy), lithium-ion battery storage, and hydrogen production by alkaline water electrolysis. Based on different patent indicators, the most active countries are compared to provide insights into the global market position of a country, particularly Germany which is used as a reference here. In line with this, a freely available patent analysis software tool was developed directly using the European Patent Office database through their Open Patent Services. The results for named technologies show that patenting activity of Germany is considered lower in comparison to countries such as Japan, China, and the US. Whereas the position of Germany for batteries and hydrogen is comparable, bioenergy shows different results regarding the identified countries and the number of patents found. However, a broader context beyond patenting is suggested for consideration to make robust statements about particular technology trends. The presented tool and methodology in this study can serve as a blueprint for explorative assessments in any technological domain.

Die Komplexitat soziotechnischer Herausforderungen und die Ungewissheit von Entscheidungen nimmt zu und so der Bedarf an wissensbasierter und optionaler Bewertung und Beratung. Technikfolgenabschatzung (TA) kann alternative Zugange und Perspektiven auf aktuelle Entscheidungslagen geben. Das Handbuch leitet dazu an, neue Antworten fur die je zur Untersuchung stehenden Problemstellungen zu erarbeiten. Es verfolgt drei Ziele. Erstens stiftet es eine Selbstvergewisserung fur TA, indem Entwicklungen von TA reflektiert werden. Zweitens dient es als Orientierungskompass, indem es Heuristiken zur systematischen Kontextualisierung von TA-Wissen aufzeigt. Drittens schlieslich zeigt es Perspektiven fur die kunftige Weiterentwicklung von TA auf. Mit Beitragen von Suzana Alpsancar, Manuel Baumann, Richard Beecroft, Alexander Bogner, Stefan Boschen, Helmut Breitmeier, Andres Checa, Kerstin Cuhls, Bert Droste-Franke, Elisabeth Ehrensperger, Torsten Fleischer, Antje Grobe, Armin Grunwald, Reinhard Grunwald, Martina Haase, Julia Hahn, Christiane Hauser, Roger Hausling, Leonhard Hennen, Nils B. Heyen, Regine Kollek, Kornelia Konrad, Jurgen Kopfmuller, Bettina-Johanna Krings, Miltos Ladikas, Roh Pin Lee, Annette Lesmollmann, Peter Letmathe, Ralf Lindner, Andreas Losch, Jacob Manderbach, Martin Meister, Linda Nierling, Maren Paegert, Oliver Parodi, Walter Peissl, Witold-Roger Poganietz, Christine Rosch, Maximilian Rosmann, Martin Sand, Jens Schippl, Jan Cornelius Schmidt, Christoph Schneider, Jan-Felix Schrape, Ingo Schulz-Schaeffer, Sandra Schwindenhammer, Hans-Jorg Sigwart, Mahshid Sotoudeh, Magdalena Tanzer, Helge Torgesen, Peter Wehling, Christina Wulf, Petra Zapp und Silke Zimmer-Merkle.

Background Dewatering constitutes a major challenge to the production of microalgae, accounting for 20–30% of the product cost. This presents a setback for the applicability of microalgae in the development of several sustainable products. This study presents an investigation into the dynamic dewatering of microalgae in a combined flocculation-filtration process. The effect of process conditions on the performance of 12 flocculants and their mixtures was assessed. Results The mechanism of flocculation via the electrostatic path was dominated by charge neutralization and subsequently followed bridging in a ‘sweep flocculation’ process. Cationic polyacrylamide (CPAM) based flocculants recorded the highest biomass retention with PAM1 and PAM2 attaining 99 and 98% retention with flocculant dosages of 10 and 15 mg/L respectively. Polyvinylamine (PVAM) was also found to improve system stability across the pH range 4–10. Alum was observed to be only effective in charge neutralization, bringing the system close to its isoelectric point (IEP). Chemometric analysis using the multi-criteria decision methods, PROMETHEE and GAIA, was applied to provide a sequential performance ranking based on the net outranking flow (ф) from 207 observations. A graphical exploration of the flocculant performance pattern, grouping the observations into clusters in relation to the decision axis ($$\pi$$ π ), which indicated the weighted resultant of most favorable performance for all criteria was explored. Conclusion CPAM based flocculants and their mixtures demonstrated superior performance due to their viscoelastic behaviour under turbulence. The use of PVAM or alum in mixtures with CPAM reduced the required doses of both flocculants, which will provide beneficial financial impact for largescale microalgae dewatering in a flocculant assisted dynamic filtration process. Chemometric analysis based on the physico-chemical properties of the system provides a time saving assessment of performance across several criteria. The study findings provide an important foundation for flocculant assisted dynamic filtration processes.

The montane subtropical broad-leaved humid forests of Meghalaya (Northeast India) are highly diverse and situated at the transition zone between the Eastern Himalayas and Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspots. In this study, we have used inventory data from seedlings to canopy level to assess the impact of both biotic and abiotic disturbances on structure, composition, and regeneration potential of the Fagaceae trees of these forests. Fagaceae trees are considered as the keystone species in these forests due to their regional dominance and their importance as a fuel wood source, and also because they form an important component of climax community in these forests. Unfortunately, these forests are highly degraded and fragmented due to anthropogenic disturbances. We have assessed, for the first time, the restoration potential (i.e., capacity to naturally regenerate and sustain desired forest structure) of Fagaceae species in the genera Lithocarpus Blume, Castanopsis (D. Don) Spach, and Quercus Linn. We also evaluated how biotic and abiotic factors, as well as anthropogenic disturbances, influence the restoration potential of these species in six fragmented forest patches located along an elevational gradient on south-facing slopes in the Khasi Hills, Meghalaya. Fagaceae was the most dominant family at all sites except one site (Laitkynsew), where it was co-dominant with Lauraceae. Fagaceae forests have shown high diversity and community assemblages. Fagaceae species had high levels of natural regeneration (i.e., seedlings and saplings) but low recruitment to large trees (diameter at breast height or DBH &ge, 10 cm) at all sites. The ability to sprout was higher in Fagaceae tree species than non-Fagaceae tree species. We have shown that human disturbance and structural diversity were positively related to regeneration of Fagaceae tree species due to high sprouting. However, with increasing human disturbance, recruitment of saplings and pole-sized trees to mature trees hampered the resulting proportion of mature Fagaceae tree species. This study provides a means for assessing regeneration and a basis for forest management strategies in degraded and fragmented forests of Meghalaya.

This paper presents results of the comparative sustainability assessment of three renewable and fossil fuel production routes, i.e. gasoline from straw or wood, and conventional gasoline. For the simultaneous consideration of the ecological, economic and social dimension a MS Excel-based tool is developed, which enables the assessment of energy technologies by choosing different MCDA (Multi Criteria Decision Analysis) methods, weighting sets, weighting methods and normalization methods for ecological indicators. Results for the MCDA method TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) show, that stakeholders who prioritize the economic dimension (Individualist) would choose conventional gasoline, while stakeholders who prioritize the ecological and the social dimension (Hierarchist and Egalitarian) would choose gasoline from wood.

Background The development of alternative pathways for sustainable fuel production is a crucial task for politics, industry and research, since the current use of fossil fuels contributes to resource depletion and climate change. Microalgae are a promising option, but the technology readiness level (TRL) is low and cannot compete economically with fossil fuels. Novel genetic engineering technologies are being investigated to improve productivity and reduce the cost of harvesting products extracted from or excreted by microalgae for fuel production. However, high resource efficiency and low costs alone are no guarantee that algae fuels will find their way into the market. Technologies must be accepted by the public to become valuable for society. Despite strong efforts in algae research and development, as well as political commitments at different scales to promote algae biofuels for transport sectors, little is known about public acceptance of this alternative transport fuel. Despite the advantages of algae technology, genetically engineered (GE) microalgae can be controversial in Europe due to risk perception. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate, for the first time, the knowledge and views of European experts and stakeholders on the conditions and requirements for acceptability of GE microalgae for next generation biofuel production. Results The results of the survey-based study indicate that the majority of the respondents believe that GE algae biofuels could provide strong benefits compared to other fuels. The majority would choose to be final consumers of engineered algae biofuels, if there is clear evidence of their benefits and open communication of potential risks. They believe that closed production systems with high security standards and rigorous risk assessment should be applied to avoid unintended impacts on humans and nature. Some respondents, however, are not convinced about the need to alter natural occurring algae strains to increase productivity, arguing that there is a huge unexplored variety, and that the consequences of using genome editing are still unknown. Conclusions This evaluation of the opinions held by European experts and stakeholders regarding GE algae biofuels provides valuable and differentiated insights, both for future research and for the development of feasible socio-technical algae systems for next generation biofuel production. The identified conditions and requirements for achieving public acceptability can support the (re-)design of this innovative technology and adaptation of the framework conditions towards the implementation of algae biofuels in Europe.

Haematococcus pluvialis is one of the most abundant sources of natural astaxanthin when compared with other microorganisms, and has attracted the interest of the market thanks to its health benefits. We investigated the environmental performance of the cultivation of H. pluvialis and the astaxanthin production processes through a comprehensive Life Cycle Analysis (LCA). This study compares the potential environmental impact of three photobioreactors (PBR) available on the market: the flat panel airlift , the green wall panel , and the unilayer horizontal tubular PBR . These systems have different technical settings: the flat panel airlift has a double-sided light emitting diode (LED) illumination system and is placed inside a building; the green wall panel is located outside and equipped with one-side LED lighting; the unilayer horizontal tubular is placed outside without any artificial lighting. Two different functional units were considered: one kg of H. pluvialis (80% dw) and 1 kg of astaxanthin. Where 1 kg of astaxanthin was selected as functional unit, as the content of astaxanthin in the biomass is low, the system expansion method was applied. The LCA results, based on original data from pilot-scale production, indicate that the system design, and the energy mix used have a significant environmental impact, due to differences in algae productivities and energy demand. For indoor systems, even with light-emitting diodes (LED), the energy demand for lighting is the main contributor to climate change. This contribution decreases significantly if the share of renewable energy increases. In the case of the green wall panel another main climate change contributor is the material used for the diode production, including tin and molybdenum. Although the astaxanthin yield is higher in the flat panel airlift and green wall panel, electricity production systems still constitute an environmental burden. For this reason, the system with the lowest environmental impact is the unilayer horizontal tubular, i.e. the photobioreactor where no artificial light is used.

Wenn man einen genauen Blick auf die im Rahmen der nationalen Politikstrategie Biookonomie veroffentlichten Anforderungen an einen Wandel von einer fossil-basierten hin zu einer bio-basierten Wirtschaftsweise wirft, wird man schnell Hinweise auf Zielkonflikte finden.

Einen Rahmen zur Analyse der Wirkbeziehungen zwischen Mensch und Umwelt bietet der Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) Ansatz (Abb. 4.1). Das Konzept wurde Ende der 90er Jahre entwickelt und bereits fur eine grose Anzahl von Analysen im Kontext der vereinten Nationen und der Europaischen Umweltagentur genutzt (EEA 1995, 1999).

Das Konzept der Nachhaltigkeit hat sich aus einer Handlungsanleitung fur die Forstwirtschaft zu einem global anerkannten Ziel-Konsens entwickelt. Das gilt spatestens, seit die Vereinten Nationen die universellen Nachhaltigkeitsziele (SDGs) beschlossen und vereinbart haben, diese gemeinsam zu erreichen (UN 2017). Dennoch gibt es eine grose Diskrepanz hinsichtlich dessen, was als nachhaltig bezeichnet wird. Nicht alles, was sich nachhaltig nennt, erfullt die okonomischen, okologischen und sozialen Anforderungen der Nachhaltigkeit.

Normen sollen zu einer nachhaltigen Entwicklung auf der Unternehmensebene beitragen. Sie berucksichtigen die Belange der Verbraucher und legen daruber hinaus Anforderungen an den Gesundheits-, Arbeits- und Umweltschutz fest. Normen werden von Experten oder in einem Multistakeholder-Prozess entwickelt. Sie stellen Losungen fur technische, umweltbezogene und soziale Fragen im Managementprozess von Unternehmen dar.

The conditions of a sustainable bioeconomy refer to the concept of sustainability, which originates from forestry. In the 18th century, this was already used to describe the fact that the amount of wood that may be cut is only as much as can grow again. The basis for the much more comprehensive concept of sustainable development used today as a guiding political principle was created by the report of the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED 1987), chaired by the Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland, that defined sustainable development as “development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” In 1992, at the UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, the international community of states agreed on the mission statement of sustainable development. The Rio Declaration expresses the joint responsibility to use the earth’s resources in a way that all countries of the world have fair development opportunities without compromising the development opportunities of future generations (UNCED 1992). The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries – developed and developing – in a global partnership. They recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests (◘ Fig. 9.1).

The innovative Agrophotovoltaics (APV) system technology combines agricultural biomass and solar power production on the same site and aims at reducing the conflict between food and power production. Unrelated to this benefit, this technology may impact the landscape negatively and could thus be subject to public opposition and/or restraining frameworks. The presented study offers a System Dynamics (SD) approach, through Causal Loop Diagrams (CLDs) models, based on the results of citizen workshops, literature research, and expert discussions on the technology. A comprehensive analysis of the driving and restraining forces for the implementation of APV-technology and expected or potential impacts reveals influential factors. Hence, this SD approach identifies bottlenecks and conflicting objectives in the technology implementation that need to be further addressed. A key finding is that successful APV-projects would require stakeholder involvement to achieve greater local acceptance. When it comes to production on agricultural land, APV-systems may drive the land use efficiency to up to 186 percent when the PV-panels serve for protection against heat stress. On the other hand, altered precipitation patterns and impacts on agricultural cultivation and, especially, the landscape caused by the technical system, may restrain the application of APV. Finally, system design factors and operator modes are amongst the criteria that may influence the local acceptance in society, farmers’ motivation for APV and economic factors for the market launch of APV. © 2020 The Authors Open access

Genetic modification of microorganisms for enhanced metabolic activity shows excellent promise for biotechnological exploitation. The production of solar fuels can be facilitated by novel advances in the metabolic engineering of microalgae and cyanobacteria. Contaminant-free biocatalytic production with high cell densities at a large scale and low costs need to be achieved for commercial application of this innovation from the technical perspective. From a market perspective, possible citizens' concerns towards genetically modified organism and products need to be investigated and addressed before product development and sale. Across EU countries, this paper shows citizens' views on solar fuel produced by genetically engineered microorganism. For the first time, this study investigates the EU citizens' attitudes towards this novel technology and possible relationship to gender, age and education. The results indicate that EU citizens consider engineered biocatalytic solar fuels as environmentally superior to established biofuels. The majority of the respondents (84%) would be their final consumers, and 70% of them are willing to pay a surcharge for them, provided that they have environmental advantages in general and in particular for climate protection. However, compared to electric cars fueled with renewable power, citizens perceive biocatalytic solar fuels as less environmentally friendly.