Calvin Cycle

The Calvin Cycle: Carbon Fixation and Glucose Production

The Calvin cycle involves the fixation of carbon dioxide and the production of glucose.

For every molecule of CO₂ fixed, the following are required:

• 3 molecules of ATP are used to power the cycle.
• 2 molecules of NADPH are used in the reduction phase to reduce 3-phosphoglycerate into glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate (G3P).

Thus, for every CO₂ fixed, 3 molecules of ATP and 2 molecules of NADPH are required.