Replacing the lithium battery with algae provides continuous power
A team of researchers from Cambridge University has succeeded in replacing a lithium-ion battery with algae to provide continuous power to the microprocessor.
The study was published on the Royal Society’s Chemistry Research Papers Repository website. The test has been successfully conducted for a year now.
To obtain energy through photosynthesis, the scientists used non-toxic blue-green algae of the genus Synechocystis.
The energy released by the algae is enough to constantly power the ARM chip, which continues even at night thanks to the internal food reserves of the algae.
“The Internet of Things is growing and consuming more and more electricity. So, we think we need systems that can generate power directly, not simple batteries,” says Christopher Howe, Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge.
According to him, algae could become an alternative to lithium-ion batteries for IoT devices. Such a replacement would save a huge amount of lithium, which is necessary for more energy-intensive battery-powered devices.
