In a remarkable scientific development, Chinese researchers have discovered a novel method to transform carbon dioxide into edible sugar, eliminating the need for conventional crops such as sugarcane or sugar beet. This significant advancement marks a new frontier in the intersection of biotechnology and climate action.
The breakthrough comes from a team at the Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, which has created an in vitro biotransformation (ivBT) system capable of synthesizing sucrose from methanol—a low-carbon chemical derived from industrial waste or directly from captured CO₂. By employing enzymes to convert methanol into sugar, the researchers have introduced a sustainable alternative to agriculture-based food production.
“Artificial conversion of CO₂ into food and chemicals offers a promising strategy to address both environmental and population-related challenges while contributing to carbon neutrality,” the team noted in their study, published in the Science Bulletin.
This development builds upon earlier work by scientists at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, who in 2021 devised a low-temperature method to convert carbon dioxide into methanol. The Tianjin researchers have now taken that innovation a step further by converting the methanol into complex carbohydrates.
According to the South China Morning Post, the research team achieved an impressive 86% conversion rate—considered a major milestone in the field of synthetic biomanufacturing. The system not only synthesizes sucrose but can also produce starch using less energy than conventional farming methods.
“In vitro biotransformation (ivBT) has emerged as a highly promising platform for sustainable biomanufacturing,” the researchers explained. “In this work, we successfully designed and implemented an ivBT system for sucrose synthesis from low-carbon molecules.”
Following this initial success, the ivBT system was adapted to convert various other compounds including fructose, amylose, amylopectin, cellobiose, and cellooligosaccharides, opening new possibilities for synthetic food production.
The urgency of such innovations is underscored by the rising threat of climate change. Excessive carbon dioxide emissions have already raised global temperatures by at least 1.1°C, and the world’s population is projected to reach 10 billion by the end of this century—doubling the demand for food.
The chemical reduction of CO₂, as demonstrated in this study, opens up possibilities to repurpose the greenhouse gas as a raw material for producing food and other essential chemicals, offering a scalable solution for both climate resilience and food security.