Giant clams could hold the key to more efficient solar power advancements

Jul 5

Jack Aylmer Energy Correspondent

By Jack Aylmer (Energy Correspondent), Ben Ray (Video Editor), Mohammed Ali (Graphics)

Researchers at Yale University are exploring how the natural adaptations of giant clams might lead to improvements in solar energy technology. These mollusks use photosynthesis to gain energy from symbiotic algae that live in their cells. It is an efficient process that the Yale team hopes to study and see whether that knowledge can translate into making solar energy infrastructure more efficient.

“The truth is that clams are more efficient at solar energy conversion than any existing solar panel technology,” said Alison Sweeney, an associate professor of physics and of ecology and evolutionary biology in Yale’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

Download the SAN app today to stay up-to-date with Unbiased. Straight Facts™.

Point phone camera here

Giant clams maximize their sunlight intake through a unique process that involves adjusting the spacing of algae clusters according to changing light conditions. This method intrigued scientists, who believe it could be the key to making solar energy infrastructure more efficient.

Currently, large solar farms capture around 25% of the sun’s available energy at any given moment. However, the Yale team’s research suggests that the clams’ method of solar energy capture could achieve efficiency rates as high as 67%.

Their secret lies in what researchers describe as the clams’ “optimized geometry.” The algae within the clams are arranged in narrow columns. That allows each algal cell to experience nearly the same light intensity. This setup ensures that all the cells work simultaneously to capture the maximum amount of solar energy.

The clams can rearrange the spacing between these columns based on the sunlight’s availability. In bright conditions, the columns are spaced wider to harness more energy. However, in low light, they are condensed to maintain high efficiency.

“Clams like to move and groove throughout the day,” Sweeney said. “This stretching moves the vertical columns farther apart, effectively making them shorter and wider. One could envision a new generation of solar panels that grow algae, or inexpensive plastic solar panels that are made out of a stretchy material.”

This adaptive mechanism can be at least 10 times more efficient than other photosynthetic models. The mechanism also offers a new perspective on how solar energy systems could be designed. The Yale researchers hope that these findings can eventually be applied to solar manufacturing. New designs could potentially lead to more efficient and adaptable solar panels.

[JACK AYLMER]

CLAMS.

THEY’RE GREAT FOR EATING.

AND FOR FILTERING POLLUTANTS OUT OF OUR BAYS AND RIVERS.

BUT NOW – RESEARCHERS HAVE THEIR SIGHTS SET ON THESE MOLLUSKS FOR A DIFFERENT REASON.

SOLAR POWER.

LET ME SHED SOME LIGHT ON THE SUBJECT.

GIANT CLAMS USE PHOTOSYNTHESIS TO GAIN ENERGY FROM SYMBIOTIC ALGAE THAT LIVE IN THEIR CELLS.

AND OVER THE COURSE OF CENTURIES – THEY’VE DEVELOPED WAYS TO MAXIMIZE THE AMOUNT OF SUNLIGHT THEY TAKE IN-

SOMETIMES ADJUSTING THE ALGAE CLUSTERS’ SPACING ACCORDING TO CHANGING LIGHT CONDITIONS.

IT’S A PROCESS BEING STUDIED AT YALE UNIVERSITY.

RESEARCHERS WANT TO SEE IF THEY CAN TRANSLATE THEIR FINDINGS INTO MORE VIABLE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR SOLAR ENERGY.

[ALISON SWEENEY]

One of the big problems with this is just how hard it is to make photosynthesis space efficient and the clam has exactly perfectly physically solved that problem.

[JACK AYLMER]

LARGE SOLAR FARMS CAN CURRENTLY CAPTURE AROUND 25 PERCENT OF THE TOTAL ENERGY AVAILABLE FROM THE SUN AT ANY GIVEN MOMENT.

BUT BY USING A THEORETICAL MODEL FROM THEIR FINDINGS-

THE YALE TEAM BELIEVES THESE CREATURES HAVE A SOLAR EFFICIENCY RATE AS HIGH AS 67 PERCENT.

A DISCOVERY THEY HOPE SOLAR MANUFACTURERS CAN ONE DAY TAP INTO.

GIANT CLAMS ARE ABLE TO TAKE IN SO MUCH SUNLIGHT BECAUSE OF WHAT RESEARCHERS DESCRIBE AS AN OPTIMIZED GEOMETRY.

THEY ARRANGE THE ALGAE WITHIN THEM INTO NARROW COLUMNS-

WHICH ALLOWS EACH ALGAL CELL TO EXPERIENCE NEARLY THE SAME LIGHT INTENSITY-

SO THEY’RE ALL WORKING TO CAPTURE THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF SOLAR ENERGY AT THE SAME TIME.

THE SPACING BETWEEN THESE COLUMNS CAN THEN BE REARRANGED BY THE CLAM BASED ON HOW MUCH SUNLIGHT IS AVAILABLE.

IF THERE’S A LOT OF LIGHT THE COLUMNS CAN BE SPACED OUT WIDER TO HARNESS MORE OF THAT ENERGY.

AND IF THERE ISN’T MUCH LIGHT, THE CLAM CAN CONDENSE THE COLUMNS SO THEY CAN ALL WORK AT THE SAME CAPACITY TO CAPTURE WHAT IS AVAILABLE.

[ALISON SWEENEY]

The clams have this truly optimal system that for any one light intensity as the sunrises and sunsets gives a perfect dose of light to the algae in these columns.

[JACK AYLMER]

THIS SETUP THAT CAN BE AT LEAST 10 TIMES MORE EFFICIENT THAN OTHER PHOTOSYNTHETIC MODELS.

AND IT’S ONE THAT COULD HELP INFORM DECISIONS ABOUT HOW HUMANS GENERATE SOLAR POWER IN THE FUTURE.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT RENEWABLE ENERGY SOLUTIONS LIKE THIS ONE, DOWNLOAD THE STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS APP AND SIGN UP FOR ALERTS FROM ME – JACK AYLMER – SO I CAN BRING YOU THE LATEST.