It is clear that three of the great challenges facing humanity in the 21st century are energy supply, climate change, and global food security. Although global energy demand is expected to continue to increase, the availability of low cost energy will continue to diminish. Coupled with increasing concerns about climate change due to CO2 release from the combustion of fossil fuels, there is now an urgent need to develop clean and renewable energy system for the hydrogen production. This special issue contains selected papers on photosynthetic and biomimetic hydrogen production presented at the International Conference "Photosynthesis Research for Sustainability-2011", that was held in Baku, Azerbaijan, during July 24-30, 2011, with the sponsorship of the International Society of Photosynthesis Research (ISPR) and of the International Association for Hydrogen Energy (IAHE). This issue is intended to provide to our readers recent information on the photosynthetic and biomimetic hydrogen production. The web site of this international conference is at: http://www.photosynthesis2011.cellreg.org. At this conference, awards were given to nine young investigators. We have included here some photographs to show the pleasant ambiance at this conference. (Also see http://www.photosynthesis2011.cellreg.org/Photos.php and http://www.life.illinois.edu/govindjee/g/Photo/Baku.html for some additional photographs). We invite the readers to the next conference on "Photosynthesis Research for Sustainability-2013" to be held in May or June 2013, in Baku, Azerbaijan. Information will be posted at: http://www.photosynthesis2013.cellreg.org. Copyright (C) 2012, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.