  This work asks how light harvesting in photosynthetic systems can be
optimised for economically scalable, sustainable energy production. Hierarchy
theory is introduced as a system-analysis and optimisation tool better able to
handle multiscale, multiprocess complexities in photosynthetic energetics
compared with standard linear-process analysis. Within this framework, new
insights are given into relationships between composition, structure and
energetics at the scale of the thylakoid membrane, and also into how components
at different scales cooperate under functional objectives of the whole
photosynthetic system. Combining these reductionistic and holistic analyses
creates a platform for modelling multiscale-optimal, idealised photosynthetic
systems in silico.
