# Harvard Bionic Leaf

the Nocera bionic-leaf lineage now underpins nanocoated nitrogen-fixing bacteria that colonise leaves and supply crop nitrogen — mapped as a "bio-solar nitrogen economy" in a June 2026 Current Research in Biotechnology roadmap and trialled as a foliar biofertilizer (Nature Food, 2026).

Source: https://en.bioecon.ru/companies/harvard-bionic-leaf/
Updated: 2026-07-10

- Country: United States

## Verifiable facts

| Fact | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Affiliation | Nocera Lab, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University | https://www.chemistry.harvard.edu/people/daniel-g-nocera, https://www.nocera.harvard.edu/daniel-nocera, https://www.nocera.harvard.edu/home |
| Research focus | artificial photosynthesis, bio-solar nitrogen fixation, renewable energy conversion and storage, sustainable biofertilizers, proton coupled electron transfer (PCET) | https://ammoniaenergy.org/articles/solar-bio-gmo-ammonia-powered-by-the-bionic-leaf/, https://www.chemistry.harvard.edu/news/expanding-reach-bionic-leaf, https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/radishes-grown-using-artificial-leaf-derived-fertiliser/3007079.article, https://www.labmanager.com/a-bionic-leaf-could-help-feed-the-world-7606, https://www.nocera.harvard.edu/artificial-leaf-and-bionic-leaf-publications, https://www.nocera.harvard.edu/daniel-nocera, https://www.nocera.harvard.edu/home |
| Principal staff | Daniel G. Nocera (Patterson Rockwood Professor of Energy), Dilek Dogutan (Principal Research Scientist) | https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/09/how-a-biofriendly-fertilizer-could-offer-a-greener-way-to-grow-plants/, https://www.chemistry.harvard.edu/news/expanding-reach-bionic-leaf, https://www.nocera.harvard.edu/daniel-nocera, https://www.nocera.harvard.edu/lab-members |
| Grant | NIH Research Project (R01) Grant #5R01GM047274-27 (Proton Coupled Electron Transfer Mechanism of Ribonucleotide Reductase) | https://grantome.com/grant/NIH/R01-GM047274-27, https://www.nocera.harvard.edu/daniel-nocera |
| Publications | Over 525 papers published, 152 named lectureships | https://www.nocera.harvard.edu/artificial-leaf-and-bionic-leaf-publications, https://www.nocera.harvard.edu/daniel-nocera |

Independent sources: ammoniaenergy.org, chemistry.harvard.edu, chemistryworld.com, grantome.com, labmanager.com, news.harvard.edu, nocera.harvard.edu

## Technologies

- [Engineered photosynthesis and artificial chloroplasts](https://en.bioecon.ru/technology/engineered-photosynthesis-artificial-chloroplasts/)