Hydrogenase by Vincent Callebaut |
It’s July 2030. You are
heading to Vancouver Island to deliver a presentation to the International
Community Planning Committee in Victoria on your innovative biomimetic design for
an organic self-organized wellness centre and recreation complex in Sydney.
You walk down the hill toward Horseshoe Bay to the nearest Hydrogenase Hub, where
you are meeting with your team to discuss the presentation. The hub is a
floating algal farm. The farm and the elongated seed-shaped airship docked at its
centre both produce biofuel—essentially hydrogen—from the microorganism Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Your mom, a
former environmental consultant and algal scientist—now she writes science
fiction—explained to you that this unicellular organism has both plant and
animal properties; it carries out photosynthesis but is also heterotrophic
(able to use organic carbon to grow) and will in the absence of oxygen produce gaseous
hydrogen and metabolites such as formate and ethanol through hydrogenase
enzymes. Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
was first discovered as a clean source of hydrogen back in 1939 by German
scientist Hans Gaffron at the University of Chicago (ironically the same year
Germany invaded Poland). Gaffron called it “photosynthetic hydrogen production
by algae”; and today it is a process that produces electricity and biofuel with
zero emissions.
Hydrogenase by Vincent Callebaut |
freshwater alga Spirogyra |
The concept is the “subversive
architecture” of Belgian architect Vincent Callebaut and inspired by the
principles of biomimicry, coined by
Janine Benyus in 2002 in her book “Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature”. Callebaut conceived Hydrogenase in 2010 as a 100% self-sufficient and zero-emission
transport system using algae. He claimed that a hectare of seaweeds could
produce 120 times more biofuel than a hectare of colza, soya or sunflower
without consuming land needed for crops or forests. He called Hydrogenase a true miniature biochemical
power station. Able to absorb CO2 as the main nutrient through
photosynthesis the algae, under anaerobic conditions, produce hydrogen in vitro
or in bioreactors.
Hydrogenase by Vincent Callebaut |
You swipe your PAL over
the ticket booth sensor and the optional ticket-brochure pops out. You take it
and read the specs between glances at the tall vessel loading in the dock of
the hub. It’s really like a vertical dirigible, you think, studying the seed-shaped
airship with self-cleaning “intelligent” nanostructured glass—inspired by the lotus
leaf that doesn’t get wet. The semi-rigid unpressurised airship stretches
vertically around an arborescent spine that twists like chloroplast ribbons 400
meters high and 180 meters in diameter.
You read that each
Hydrogenase airship is covered with flexible inflatable photovoltaic cells and twenty
wind turbines to maneuver and collect energy. The interior spaces provide room for
housing, offices, scientific laboratories, and entertainment, and a series of
vegetable gardens that provide a source of food while recycling waste.
You read that this
self-sufficient organic transport flies about 2000 meters high at about 175
km/hr (twice the speed of a conventional ship). Given its ease in negotiating
airspace and its ability to land and take off from virtually any location, the
Hydrogenase is used by many groups in various capacities. Your friend Michael
who teaches at the University of Victoria uses one as a mobile research station
in his studies along the coast of northern British Columbia.
Inside the Hydrogenase "balloon" |
The
vessel is made of “intelligent layers” and “self-separable ceramics”. Its
bionic coating draws inspiration from sharkskin that is self-cleaning and
flow-efficient.
You
head down the spiral staircase to the third subsea level toward the meeting
room you booked earlier on your PAL. The view is spectacular from here through
the nano-glass panes. Rays of shimmering light stream through a gently swaying
forest of kelp. You glimpse the sun-glinted flickering of hundreds of anchovies
as they school through the kelp. This floating farm is an organic purifying
station of four carbon wells where the algae recycle the carbonated waste
brought by the airships and, in turn, feed the airship with biohydrogen. It’s
the new “gas station”, you reflect with a smile.
top and bottom views of Hydrogenase |
After
your meeting with staff, you and three others of your team board the airship
and settle in one of the skyview chambers. The journey is relaxing, like the BC
Ferry used to be, but without the pungent smell and pollution of conventional
motorized sea vessels. It’s a quiet and relaxing trip with a spectacular view
of the Gulf Islands. Your team strategizes your presentation over a light lunch
and Matcha lattes.
The
PA system sounds and a woman’s voice informs you that the ship will be making
an emergency landing on Saturna Island to rescue two hikers injured at East
Point. This will only add twenty minutes to the trip, the woman assures you.
You don’t mind and recall the disclaimer at the bottom of the ticket. Given the
ability of this airship to take off and accurately land virtually anywhere, all
Hydrogenases are by law mandated to be on standby for rescue missions in rough
terrain.
You
pull out the ticket and read again: The
Hydrogenase is affiliated with the International Red Cross and BC Coastguard.
The Hydrogenase must by law respond to any distress call at sea or rough
terrain associated with coastal waters. Because of this service, we cannot
guarantee a timely schedule.
Hydrogenase hub algal farms and airships |
You recall how Hydrogenases were deployed in the last hurricane
disaster off the coast of Florida last year, saving countless people trapped in
the flooding that accompanied the storm. The International Red Cross uses them
as flying hospitals.
Bernard frets over the time
delay. He is concerned about the lack of preparation and set up time once you
get into Victoria. You assuage him gently. The best preparation is sincerity,
you tell him. The landscape architect Thomas Woltz whose work you highly
respect, saw himself as someone who embraces the complexity of modern life
while seeking meaning and narrative in both natural and man-made environments.
Hydrogenase by Vincent Callebaut |
“We’re storytellers,” you tell Andre. Invoking metaphor through
design. “They know we’re coming and they know we’re helping someone; they’ll
wait for our story. And it’s all about harmony.”
The lines of Henry David Thoreau come to you: Man’s life must be of equal simplicity and sincerity with nature, and
his actions harmonize with her grandeur and beauty.
Then you point your PAL at the ServiceBot and order three more
lattes. You lean back in your bamboo fabric chair and cross your legs over the
leg rest.
It’s a new world.
Kevin Klassen grabs a bite in Victoria Harbour |
Nina Munteanu is an
ecologist and internationally published author of novels, short stories and
essays. She coaches writers and teaches writing at George Brown College and the
University of Toronto. For more about Nina’s coaching & workshops visit www.ninamunteanu.me. Visit www.ninamunteanu.ca for more about her writing.
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