The research in photosynthesis and hydrogen energy production provides a unique opportunity for transforming sustainable solar energy into our energy system. This special issue presented the selected and invited papers from the International Conference on Photosynthesis Research for Sustainability in honor of Nathan Nelson and T. Nejat Veziroglu which was held on June 19-25, 2016, in Pushchino, Russia. These papers offered readers with some of the most recent and exciting progresses in photosynthesis and hydrogen energy production. The potential limitations and future efforts with open questions were also offered to stimulate the further research endeavors in the field. (C) 2016 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.