algae lamp biochemist Pierre Calleja-ShamengoPhotoWhat if underground parking garages were lit by lamps running off the CO2 exhaust from the passing cars?

French Bio-chemist Pierre Calleja invented an algae lamp that needs no electricity for illumination and also gobbles up carbon emissions that cause global warming.

The French start-up he works for, FermentAlg, installed one of the algae-filled tanks in a parking garage in Bordeau. It feeds on the CO2 in the air at the rate of 1 ton per year, the amount that a tree absorbs over its entire lifetime, according to the French project Shamengo.

While development is still needed to make a cost-effective product, Calleja says the microalgae streetlamp has the potential to provide significantly cleaner air in urban areas and revolutionize the cityscape.

(WATCH the video below or READ a story in the Atlantic)

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