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Algae Could Be the Key To Ultra-Thin Batteries

Posted by Soulskill on from the green-power-that's-actually-green dept.

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."

16 of 54 comments (clear)

  1. green tech by timmarhy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    i wish other industries could make such wild claims and have everyone believe them.

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    1. Re:green tech by greentshirt · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I don't understand why he gets modded troll for this comment, he's right.

      I'm tired of reading incredible claims that are just not justified by the science.

      When it's done by easy to hate industries like big pharma or big oil, we all jump on it, we should show the sobriety required to do the same when it's from friendlier industries. If anything, these claims hurt the industry by setting up unreal expectations and eventually earning it a reputation of big promises that never deliver.

    2. Re:green tech by ushering05401 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      He's modded troll because he is projecting some sort of faith in these press releases on to the rest of us. Reading green tech/energy content is kinda like reading optimistic sci-fi - you know - gee, wouldn't it be nice.

      Even if the tech is viable, the IP situation in the Western World dictates a long road from conceptualization to delivery. Simply having a story posted doesn't mean anyone is buying into it... Just means we won't be as surprised as everyone else if it turns out to work.

    3. Re:green tech by Abcd1234 · · Score: 2

      Yeah, bullshit, buddy. Nanotubes are touted as next generation batteries, circuit boards, solar cells, bullet proof armor, space elevator cables, and god knows what else. They're practically a magical panacea if you believe researchers.

      As for printable circuit boards, yup, you got me there. They're manufactured in the lab... kinda like algae-based power sources.

    4. Re:green tech by Interoperable · · Score: 3, Insightful

      It's usually not the industry/scientists' fault. It's the science journalists. They're the ones who take good research that's making cautiously optimistic projections for the possibilities of new technologies and turn it into "Scientists say they invented new technology that will abrogate our responsibilities!"

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      So if this is the future...where's my jet pack?
  2. Key word... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    "Eventually". And that assumes that it's economically feasible, of course.

  3. BSG by Kethinov · · Score: 3, Funny

    Sweet! So that means when we find the Algae Planet, it'll solve our food AND fuel problems! Why steal Tylium from the Cylons when you've got algae?

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    You're right, I wouldn't steal a car. But if it were possible, I sure as hell would download one!
    1. Re:BSG by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      ...can also be used to make a type of cellulose that has 100 times the surface area of cellulose found in paper. Not to mention the super-absorbent toilet paper we could make.

    2. Re:BSG by Firehed · · Score: 2, Funny

      Now that's an idea my behind can get behind.

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      How are sites slashdotted when nobody reads TFAs?
  4. no we need that planet to dial the Destiny by Joe+The+Dragon · · Score: 2, Funny

    no we need that planet to dial the Destiny

  5. Does anyone remember this? by Mortaegus · · Score: 2, Interesting

    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.

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    1. Re:Does anyone remember this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

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

    2. Re:Does anyone remember this? by wizardforce · · Score: 4, Informative

      Geobacter 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.

      --
      Sigs are too short to say anything truly profound so read the above post instead.
  6. Could be by j00r0m4nc3r · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Well, anything could be the key to ultra-thin batteries. Wake me up when you find the thing that is the key...

  7. Not really a battery by Jack+Malmostoso · · 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
    http://www.nec.co.jp/techrep/en/r_and_d/a05/a05-no3/a262.pdf

    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.

  8. Yeah, so the paper is biodegradable. by Hurricane78 · · Score: 2, Interesting

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

    --
    Any sufficiently advanced intelligence is indistinguishable from stupidity.