Algae Could Be the Key To Ultra-Thin Batteries

MikeChino writes "Algae is often touted as the next big thing in biofuels, but the slimy stuff could also be the key to paper-thin biodegradable batteries, according to researchers at Uppsala University in Sweden. Uppsala researcher Maria Stromme and her team has found that the smelly algae species that clumps on beaches, known as Cladophora, can also be used to make a type of cellulose that has 100 times the surface area of cellulose found in paper. That means it can hold enough conducting polymers to effectively recharge and hold electricity for long amounts of time. Eventually, the bio batteries could compete with commercial lithium-ion batteries."

Does anyone remember this?

[Mortaegus]

A few years back I remember hearing about a bacteria that was being breed to produce electricity. It ate really nutrient-rich mucky dirt and produced electricity, and the structure of the bacteria was similar to a nerve cell branching out to other cells and carrying the current. They were trying to make a battery out of it. But for the life of me I could only find stubs of articles on it, and nothing that said anything about viability or even gave a measure of what has been achieved. Anyone else heard about that work? Wonder if the conductivity of these bacteria would be genetically added to the battery bacteria to improve the flow of electricity? Maybe the projects should be married.

Re:Does anyone remember this?

[Anonymous Coward]

Did you flunk Conspiracy 101? It was suppressed by Big Oil (TM) - just like this current one will be.

Yeah, so the paper is biodegradable.

[Hurricane78]

But what about the polymers that they are coated in??