Binding free energy of different antenna–core interfaces (kcal mol⁻¹). ΔG_vdW, the van der Waals interaction energy; ΔG_np, the non-polar solvation energy; ΔG_elec, the electrostatic interaction energy; ΔG_nonpolar, the contribution of hydrophobic interactions; ΔG_polar, the contribution of electrostatic interactions; ΔG_bind, the binding free energy.

Interface	ΔGvdW	ΔGnp	ΔGeleca	ΔGnonpolarb	ΔGpolarc	ΔGbindd
S LHCII/core	−103.5 ± 12.5	−11.4 ± 1.0	58.5 ± 2.5	−114.9	58.5	−56.4 ± 13.6
S CP26/core	−46.5 ± 5.3	−6.2 ± 0.5	55.9 ± 3.0	−52.7	55.9	3.2 ± 6.4
S CP29/core	−167.4 ± 8.5	−18.5 ± 0.7	69.8 ± 3.8	−185.9	69.8	−116.1 ± 9.8

^aIncludes the electrostatic solvation energy, see methods.

^bFormula (6).

^cFormula (7).

^dFormula (5).