Dual carbon sequestration with photosynthetic living materials

Abstract Natural ecosystems offer efficient pathways for carbon sequestration, serving as a resilient approach to remove CO 2 from the atmosphere with minimal environmental impact. However, the control of living systems outside of their native environments is often challenging. Here, we engineered a photosynthetic living material for dual CO 2 sequestration by immobilizing photosynthetic microorganisms within a printable polymeric network. The carbon concentrating mechanism of the cyanobacteria enabled accumulation of CO 2 within the cell, resulting in biomass production. Additionally, the metabolic production of OH - ions in the surrounding medium created an environment for the formation of insoluble carbonates via microbially-induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP). Digital design and fabrication of the living material ensured sufficient access to light and nutrient transport of the encapsulated cyanobacteria, which were essential for long-term viability (more than one year) as well as efficient photosynthesis and carbon sequestration. The photosynthetic living materials sequestered approximately 2.5 mg of CO 2 per gram of hydrogel material over 30 days via dual carbon sequestration, with 2.2 ± 0.9 mg stored as insoluble carbonates. Over an extended incubation period of 400 days, the living materials sequestered 26 ± 7 mg of CO 2 per gram of hydrogel material in the form of stable minerals. These findings highlight the potential of photosynthetic living materials for scalable carbon sequestration, carbon-neutral infrastructure, and green building materials. The simplicity of maintenance, coupled with its scalability nature, suggests broad applications of photosynthetic living materials as a complementary strategy to mitigate CO 2 emissions.