翻译练习：Creating Fuel From Thin Air With Artificial Leaves(1)

Creating Fuel From Thin Air With Artificial Leaves(1)

用人造叶片凭空创造燃料（1）

凭空创造燃料

The sun produces more than enough energy for human activities, but we still can't capture enough of it, points out Erwin Reisner, energy and sustainability professor at Cambridge University.

剑桥大学能源与可持续发展研究的教授欧文・瑞斯纳指出，太阳产生的能量远远超过人类活动所需，但是我们仍然不能完全捕获这些能量。

He heads a team of researchers trying to capture more of that free energy.

他领导一个团队，专业研究捕获更多这些免费的能源。

While solar panels have made big advances in recent years, becoming cheaper and more efficient, they just provide electricity, not storable liquid fuels, which are still in great demand.

虽然太阳能电池板最近几年取得了巨大的进步，开始变得更便宜，而且能量转化率也更高，但是他们只能提供电力，并不是可存储的液体燃料（默然说话：汽油？！煤油？！），而液体燃料如今仍然有巨大的需求。（默然说话：汽车，轮船，飞机都需要。）

"If you look at the global energy portfolio and what's needed, electricity only covers maybe 20-25%, what do we do next?" asks Prof Reisner.

“如果你研究全球能源结构与能源需求，你会发现电力只覆盖了也许20-25%，那剩下的怎么办？”，瑞斯纳问。

His answer is to look to nature: "Plants are a huge inspiration, because they have learned over millions of years how to take up sunlight and store the energy in energy carriers."

他的答案是求助大自然：“植物给了我巨大的灵感，因为它们在数百万年间学会了如何吸收太阳光，并将能源储存在了能源载体里。”

"I really believe that artificial photosynthesis will be one part of that energy portfolio over the next two decades."

“我坚信，人工光合作用将在未来20年成为能源结构的一部分”

When plants photosynthesize, they take up water and carbon dioxide, and use light from the sun to convert these raw materials into the carbohydrates they need for growth.

当植物进行光合作用时，它们吸收水和二氧化碳，然后利用太阳的光转换这些原材料成为他们生长所需要的碳水化合物。

"We want to replicate this, but we don't really want to make carbohydrates because they make a lousy fuel, so instead of making carbohydrates we try to make something that can be more readily used," says Prof Reisner.

“我们打算仿制这个过程，不过我们真的不是要制造碳水化合物，因为碳水化合物是一种非常糟糕的燃料，我们尝试制造一种比碳水化合物更方便使用的燃料。”，瑞斯纳教授说。

An added problem is that plants aren't actually terribly good at photosynthesis, converting only around one or two per cent of solar energy into fuel. The US Department of Energy has concluded that for artificial photosynthesis to be viable economically, efficiency needs to rise to between five and 10%.

另一个问题是，其实植物也并不是非常擅长于光能的利用，它们仅只能将太阳能的1%到2%转换为燃料。美国能源部得出的结论是，若要人工光合作用经济可行，其效率必须在5-10%。