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."

Comments

green tech

[timmarhy]

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

Re:green tech

[greentshirt]

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.

Re:green tech

[ushering05401]

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.

Re:green tech

[Interoperable]

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!"

BSG

[Kethinov]

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?

Re:BSG

[Anonymous Coward]

...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.

Re:Does anyone remember this?

[wizardforce]

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.

Could be

[j00r0m4nc3r]

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

Not really a battery

[Jack Malmostoso]

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.