Hydrogen is already a major commodity and process intermediate for fertilizer production, petroleum processing, and chemical synthesis. It also offers unrealized potential for energy storage. While biological production offers an expandable and sustainable source, enthusiasm has been dampened by slow research progress. Also, the very low cost of natural gas (the major current hydrogen source) imposes severe economic challenges. This discussion describes process, metabolic, and protein engineering opportunities toward cost-effective biohydrogen production. Recent progress in hydrogenase engineering and photosynthetic bacterial research now suggests a favorable risk versus reward opportunity. Although the risks are still significant, successful technologies would provide important components in an integrated energy portfolio that enables global sustainability.

中文翻译：

---

制氢生物技术的机会。

氢气已经是化肥生产，石油加工和化学合成的主要商品和工艺中间体。它还为储能提供了未实现的潜力。尽管生物生产提供了可扩展和可持续的来源，但研究进展缓慢却削弱了人们的热情。另外，天然气（目前主要的氢源）的成本非常低，给经济带来了严峻的挑战。该讨论描述了实现具有成本效益的生物氢生产的过程，代谢和蛋白质工程学机会。现在，氢化酶工程和光合细菌研究的最新进展表明，风险与回报机会相差无几。尽管风险仍然很大，