This article explores the feasibility of producing biohydrogen from microalgae following their use in wastewater purification from food industry facilities and the removal of high levels of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the air. The authors investigated various methods for disrupting the cell membranes of microalgae and their impact on biohydrogen yield. The microalgae biomass obtained after wastewater and air purification underwent pre-treatment using physicochemical and chemical methods, including microwave radiation, acid treatment, and thermal treatment. The highest hydrogen production occurred during thermal and acid treatments of biomass with the addition of starch (44.24 mL/L of suspension). The use of microwave radiation for processing did not yield significant results. A comparison of the biohydrogen values obtained from untreated and treated biomass revealed that treatment enhances biohydrogen yield.

The production of low-carbon hydrogen based on renewable energy sources is considered a promising direction in the development of the modern world economy. The purpose of the presented research is to develop technologies and study the processes of converting biogases into hydrogen, as well as its use in low-temperature fuel cells. The methodology for organizing a multi-stage laboratory experiment for obtaining biogas, its purification from impurities and, in the future, the production of biohydrogen was developed based on field studies in Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University. The results of modeling studies have shown that during biogas reforming, it is possible to obtain a hydrogen mixture with a hydrogen content of 98% vol and methane 2% vol. Based on the results of the research, the possibility of using the significant potential of “weak” biogas containing methane 30–45% vol to produce biohydrogen (more than 93% vol) was proved. A technique for using biohydrogen in low-temperature fuel cells for energy generation has been substantiated and tested.

The sharp change in the geopolitical situation after the start of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine is already affecting the global energy markets. The gradual phasing out of Russian energy carriers announced by European countries puts on the agenda not only new energy routes but also new alternative energy sources. Most likely, it should be expected that the Glasgow Climate Pact will not be implemented, and the phase-out of coal as the most environmentally destructive fossil fuel will be delayed for many years. The impossibility of quickly abandoning fossil fuels, primarily coal and oil, has already become one of the reasons for the search for new energy sources with a neutral or low carbon footprint. Energy based on renewable sources such as the wind and the sun, although it has developed rapidly in the last 30 years, has not yet become a serious alternative to traditional energy based on oil, coal, and gas. This largely explains the increased interest in hydrogen as an energy source. However, there are still significant barriers to the development of hydrogen energy, primarily technological and economic. This article provides a comprehensive analysis of the main barriers to the use of hydrogen as a competitive source of major fossil fuels.

More than half a century of man-in-space exploration not only demonstrated the new manufacturing capabilities of the countries involved in the study of distant and near space, but also presented the main challenges that humanity will face in the exploration of the space in the first half of the 21st century. One of these challenges is the rapid growth in a number of satellites used not only by government structures, but also by private sector. This problem gives rise to another one – ensuring the safety of the satellites flights and contamination of the earth orbit by man-made objects. A particular problem is the growing militarization of the space. There is another natural challenge such as a cometary-asteroid hazard. In the near future, humanity has to answer these challenges. This is important for two reasons. Firstly, only overcoming them, we will be able to continue our expansion in the space. And, secondly, only by solving the encountered problems, we will be able to maintain the stability on the Earth. An important factor for a successful response to the challenges is international cooperation in space, which allows combining the resources of space powers including intellectual potential. In this case, we can rely on the soonest achievement of the set goals. Of course, this will mark new frontiers, which will be a challenge for the next generations.

A convergence of digital and physical worlds shapes capabilities of attaining a fundamentally new level of knowledge about molecular and system-level principles of functioning of both individual elements of living world matter, and the entire biosphere. Accordingly, there appear those growing points, which change the traditional types of specialists’ employment beginning to get oriented to solving the key problems of ecological and food-supply security, problems of biologically renewable sources of energy and materials, biotechnologies and bionic applications in engineering and industry, and ultimately to the challenges of public health services and healthcare. The basic changes of labor market in the fields related to biology and medicine have been shown. The directions of application of computational methods for searching biologically inspired breakthroughs for engineering and industry have been given consideration. The presented data can be interesting for analyzing negative, neutral and positive scenarios of development of universities and other education research communities.