Algae Could Be the Key To Ultra-Thin Batteries 54
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."
Re:Does anyone remember this? (Score:5, Informative)
Geobacter [wikipedia.org] Is capable of doing precisely what you describe. The bacterium extends electrode like pili into its environment and degrading various materials ranging from hydrocarbons to Uranium salts. However, Geobacter creates an electrical current in a very different way than these algae batteries would. The algae battery looks like it uses the cellulose as a supportive structure in rather than using biological processes to generate an electrical potential.
Not really a battery (Score:3, Informative)
The device they came up with is more like a supercapacitor, but it still pretty good.
I believe that the real breakthrough in electrochemical energy storage technology will not be in greater energy density from new materials, but in cheaper alternatives from organic systems.
When their performance degrades too much we can safely toss them, make compost and start over.
A couple of examples:
http://gcep.stanford.edu/pdfs/Y0NOS1cDbWD509Q0m5Reyw/Symposium2009Poster_Joaquin_Geng.pdf [stanford.edu]
http://www.nec.co.jp/techrep/en/r_and_d/a05/a05-no3/a262.pdf [nec.co.jp]
Disclaimer: I work in battery research so I firmly believe that batteries, and not fuel cells, will save us. So don't even go there.