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Thanks to Skillshare for supporting this episode of SciShow.
感谢Skillshare对本期视频的支持。
There are lots of reasons to want renewable sources of energy.
有很多理由期待可再生能源。
They can reduce smog, create jobs, and lower our environmental impacts which we all pretty much agree are good things to do.
它们可以减少雾霾、创造工作机会以及降低环境影响，我们一致认为这些是好事。
But right now, there are limits to how much energy we can get from things like solar and wind—
但现在，我们能从太阳能和风能中获取多少能量还是有限制的—
and not just because we need to build more facilities.
不仅仅是因为我们需要建更多的设施。
Power grids aren't equipped to handle the boom and bust nature of these sources right now.
现在电网无法应付这些能源忽好忽坏的本质。
So scientists are looking for new ways to store power, including turning it into fuel.
因此科学家们正在寻找存储能量的新方法，包括将能量转变为燃料。
This technology is called power to gas, and it's still under development. But someday, it could revolutionize the energy industry.
这项技术被称为电转气，且仍处于发展阶段。但将来它可以彻底改革能源产业。
Around the world, countries are moving away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy sources,
世界各国正在逐渐脱离化石燃料，转向可再生能源—
which capture energy from natural processes that can't be depleted, like solar or wind power.
从用之不竭的自然过程，比如太阳或风能中获取能量。
After all, fossil fuels are harmful to the environment in many ways, like exacerbating climate change.
毕竟，化石燃料在很多方面对环境有害，比如恶化气候变化。
Not to mention they're running out—which is, you know, the trouble with anything that's not renewable.
更不用提它们将被耗尽—任何不可再生物质都有这种问题。
But there's a catch to this ideal world: Renewable energies tend to be inconsistent sources of electricity.
但是理想世界中也有意料不到的情况：可再生能源是一种不稳定的电力来源。
They really depend on location and time. For instance, it's easier for tropical locales to rely on solar power.
它们真的很依赖于地点和时间。例如，热带地区很容易获取太阳能。
On sunny days in places that currently have solar farms,
在阳光充足的日子里，拥有太阳场的地方
there's more than enough solar energy streaming in to produce the electricity they need.
有充足的太阳能用于生产他们所需的电力。
But even the sunniest parts of the world get clouds and rain.
但即便是地球上阳光最充足的地方都有阴天和雨天。
On those days, solar farms that typically generate enough electricity might not make the cut.
那些日子里，能够生产充足电力的太阳场可能就达不到标准。
So engineers are trying to suss out how to make sure energy production can keep up with energy demand, an idea called balancing the grid.
一些工程师试图弄清楚如何确保能源生产满足能源需求，这个想法被称为平衡电网。
And for renewable energies, that mostly means finding a way to capture and store the extra power they produce on good days to make up for less productive ones.
对于可再生能源而言，这主要意味着寻找一种获取并储存晴天里收集的额外能量，将之用于弥补能源生产不足的地方。
Batteries might seem like an obvious solution, because they're used for power storage in everything from your remote controls to flashlights, to high-end cars.
电池似乎是一种显而易见的解决方法，因为它们被用于任何事物的能量储存，比如你的遥控器、手电筒和高端汽车。
But making and maintaining batteries that can store that much energy is expensive.
但是制造和维护可以储存如此巨大能量的电池成本高昂。
For the US, we're talking trillions of dollars expensive.
用美元来计算，我们需要上万亿美元。
And that's on top of the price of building renewable energy facilities in the first place.
这是首先建立可再生能源设施的价格。
But there's another way: banking electricity in energy sources like gases,
但是还有另一种方式：将电存在能源，比如气体中，
which are much cheaper to manage and fit into existing energy infrastructures in lots of places.
这样管理成本更低且很多地方现有的能源基础设施都适用。
This idea is called Power to Gas, or P2G. And making the gas is pretty straightforward. Electricity is just moving electrons.
这个想法被称为电转气，简称P2G。制造气体简单直接。电不过是移动的电子。
And when you apply an electric current to water, something useful happens:
当你将电流应用到水中，一些有用的现象就发生了：
the water molecules split into their atomic components: hydrogen and oxygen. This is known as electrolysis.
水分子分裂成原子成分：氢气和氧气。这被称为电解。
And a lot of P2G research has focused on making it as efficient as possible.
很多关于P2G的研究都专注于使它尽可能变得高效。
Usually, this happens by putting chemicals called electrolytes in the water that help electrons move around easily.
通常，可以通过往水中加入电解质实现，它们可以帮助电子轻易移动。
The oxygen gas can be bottled for use, like in a hospital or welding torches, or simply released into the air.
氧气可以装瓶使用，比如医院的那种，可用于焊接或被释放到空气之中。
But the hydrogen gas is the real prize.
但是氢气才是真正的战利品。
Some places are well-equipped to store and use it directly, like areas with a lot of infrastructure for hydrogen cars.
一些地方设备精良可以直接储存和使用，比如有很多氢车设备的地方。
In a lot of cases, though, countries will want to create something more useful for their current grid.
在多数情况中，各国希望为他们现在的电网创造出更有用的办法。
That likely means combining hydrogen gas with carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide to create methane, the main component of natural gas.
这可能意味着将氢气和一氧化碳或二氧化碳结合制成甲烷—天然气的主要成分。
That carbon dioxide could come from the atmosphere or other emission sources, directly reducing the total amount of CO2 we put into the air.
二氧化碳可以来自于大气或其他排放源，这样能够直接减少人类排放至空气中的二氧化碳总量。
And while the methane produced would still emit carbon dioxide when burned, it's less than burning coal or oil.
虽然生产出的甲烷在燃烧时仍会排放出二氧化碳，但排放量比烧煤和油要少。
Now, renewable energies can be so productive at times that they more than make up for lulls.
现在可再生能源有时可以非常高产，弥补那些间歇绰绰有余。
So all that extra extra energy can be used in other ways… like to make food.
所以所有的这些额外能量都可被多用途使用，比如制作食物。
Researchers are tinkering with the idea of using gas from P2G to generate food for fish, livestock, pets, and even us humans.
研究人员正在研究利用P2G中的气体为鱼类、家畜、宠物，甚至人类制作食物。
For decades, microbiologists have known about methanotrophic bacteria —organisms that feed on single-carbon compounds like methane.
几十年来，微生物学家已经知晓了甲烷氧化细菌—以单碳化合物，比如甲烷，为食的生物体。
But it's only in the past 20 years or so that scientists have started growing bacteria to process and stick into animal feeds, dubbing them bioprotein.
但仅过去20年，科学家已经开始培育细菌处理并伸入动物饲料中，这里将其成为生物蛋白。
Kind of like Vegemite… but not yeast. And while most test facilities use the methane from natural gas,
有点像是咸味酱，但不含酵母。虽然大部分试验设备都是使用来自天然气中的甲烷，
some engineers think using methane produced by P2G would be even better.
但一些工程师认为使用P2G生产的甲烷会更好。
Not only that, but the oxygen from hydrolysis could be fed into the bacterial cultures to help them grow, because they need it too.
不仅如此，来自水解作用中的氧可以用于喂养细菌培养物帮助它们生长，因为它们也需要氧。
And the carbon dioxide the bacteria produced could be used to make more methane in a big, gassy cycle!
而细菌产生的二氧化碳可以在这个大型气体循环中生产更多甲烷！
Right now, the methane for bioprotein comes from natural gas,
现在，用于生物蛋白的甲烷来源于天然气，
though companies are looking to switch that to sewage sludge or other decomposing materials.
虽然公司正指望着将其替换成下水污泥或其他可分解材料。
That would make bioprotein more sustainable, but a little bit less appetizing.
这会使得生物蛋白变得更加可持续，但就是没那么美味了。
Using power-to-gas methane would solve the sustainability issue,
使用电转气解决了可持续问题，
but also make the idea of bioprotein in processed foods or protein powders more palatable.
但也使得在加工食品或蛋白粉中加入生物蛋白的想法更加美味。
So basically we could get buff by eating wind or sunlight. Which is pretty cool.
因此我们可以通过喝风吃阳光来获得健康身体。相当酷。
Of course, all of this relies on really efficient power-to-gas conversion, and we're not quite there yet.
当然，所有这些都要依赖于真实有效的电转气转换，而我们还没到那一步。
But researchers are working on the process every day, so it might not be too long before P2G is integrated into power grids worldwide.
但是研究人员每天都在努力，所以在P2G与世界各地电网相结合之间，我们或许不用等太久。
It takes hard work from a lot of scientists to develop new technologies like Power to Gas, and that sort of teamwork is true for any field.
这需要大量科学家的努力才能开发出像电转气这样的新科技，这样的团队合作适用于各个领域。
So if you're doing collaborative, creative work like us,
如果你和我们一样从事合作创造型工作，
you might want to check out this Skillshare class on Creating Design Systems, taught by creative director Dan Mall.
那么你或许想要看看Skillshare上的课程—《创造设计体系》，由创意总监丹·马尔教授。
He uses examples like the New York City Transit Authority to talk about design manuals
他结合各种例子，比如纽约市公共运输局，讲解设计手册
that are easy to use and make communication easier across teams.
这些设计手册使用简单，让团队沟通更加容易。
And he teaches you how to create your own to streamline productivity!
他会教大家如何创造属于自己的设计手册使生产力合理化！
Right now, Skillshare is offering SciShow viewers 2 months of unlimited access to over 20,000 classes, including this one!
现在，Skillshare为《科学秀》的观众提供两个月的无限使用权，免费观看2万多种课程，包括这一个！
Just follow the link in the description to take advantage of this offer.
点击下方链接，好好利用这一福利。
And while you're learning about productivity, making video games, or painting, you're also supporting SciShow. So, thanks for doing that!
当你在学习生产力、制作视频或是学习绘画时，你就是在支持《科学秀》。所以感谢大家！
