. 61, 873 (1983).Over many years multiple investigations of the mechanism of the primary quantum conversion steps in natural photosynthesis have exposed the participation of some kind of manganese complex in the oxidation of water to molecular oxygen and the participation of a number of iron hemes in the electron transport chain between the two photosystems. It is almost certain that the participation of an iron-sulfur protein on the reduction side of the photosynthetic electron transfer scheme plays a role in the formation of reduced pyridine nucleotide through ferredoxin and in the evolution of hydrogen in plants deprived of COz but having the hydrogenase present. The physical arrangement of the components is important as well, and the participation of at least one phase boundary (and probably two) in the same transport chain is likely. We have used this information to try to construct a synthetic chloroplast that would accomplish quantum conversion into stored energy in the form of intermediate oxidant and intermediate reductant. These could then be converted, respectively, into a useful oxidation product, or molecular oxygen, on the one hand, and molecular hydrogen, or a more useful reduction product, on the other.