Humans have imitated nature since prehistoric times. Aircraft, submarines and even cars are designed in the image of wild animals. So why haven't we imitated plants yet?

The reason this question is significant is due to the increasing discordance between the existence of humanity and nature. Try as we may, the coronavirus pandemic clearly showed us just how much the national economy of many countries depends on the sale and consumption of non-renewable resources like petroleum.

Since we can neither reduce the consumption of such resources nor kill off the majority of the human population, we should try our best to transform this planet to sustain the ever-increasing human population.

The first step for such an endeavour is unavoidably the imitation of photosynthesis. It harnesses the inexhaustible supply of solar energy to convert carbon dioxide into glucose and oxygen, both of them extremely important for humans. An artificial contraption will have many advantages over its natural counterpart as it can run 24/7 and be less susceptible to external factors like disease or parasites. The productivity of such a unit can be scaled infinitely once the prototypes have been optimised.

We already have the necessary tools to create such technology. We know the composition of chlorophyll. We are sufficiently experienced in creating super thin structure and even microscopic circuits. Even though I do not have a degree in Botany or Chemistry, I believe that with sufficient stimulus, human researchers can develop such a technology rapidly.

So the only question remains is: Why haven't the developed countries of this planet invested in such a project already and what will it take for the scientific community to focus on this topic?

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