{"id":180034,"date":"2026-08-21T07:23:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T05:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/?p=180034"},"modified":"2026-08-15T16:51:22","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T14:51:22","slug":"a-truly-green-way-to-power-our-devices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/a-truly-green-way-to-power-our-devices\/","title":{"rendered":"A truly green way to power our devices"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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Cyanobacteria \u00a9 Wong Yu Liang on Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

The digital clock says it\u2019s 2:42 \u2013 the blinking colon counting the seconds below a mysterious green box. At a time when \u2018being green\u2019 matters more than ever, a team of Cambridge researchers has devised a way to power electronic devices that\u2019s taken the brief quite literally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWe\u2019ve found a way to tap into a natural process in algae, and use it to generate continuous electricity 24\/7 without harming the plant at all,\u201d says Dr Paolo Bombelli in the University of Cambridge\u2019s Department of Biochemistry<\/strong>. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019s scientific lead of a project that began two decades ago – and his self-confessed obsession with algae shows no sign of letting up.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Dr Paolo Bombelli with experimental living algae systems \u00a9 Jacqueline Garget<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

The algae are \u2018photosynthetic cyanobacteria\u2019: ancient, aquatic microorganisms that harvest sunlight and take carbon dioxide out of the air to power their growth. This process involves a continuous flow of electrons – essentially electricity – and the team has worked out how to tap off a fraction of it and use this to power electrical devices.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Biocell \u00a9 Lucia Giron<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

The algae live within a sealed casing, and their photosynthesis produces a low-power electrical current that keeps flowing even in the dark. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As it\u2019s based on a living organism, this \u2018biocell\u2019 technology can keep producing electricity for as long as the team can keep it alive. The record so far is six years (and counting)\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cOur aim is to get rid of the need for batteries altogether,\u201d says Bombelli.<\/strong>\u00a0 \u201cThis is a completely new way to generate electricity that has the capacity to run and run – even when there\u2019s no light at all – making it a much greener, longer-term alternative to traditional chemical batteries.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n

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Lucia Giron, Chris Howe, and Paolo Bombelli with their algae-powered digital clock
\u00a9 Jacqueline Garget<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Better than conventional batteries?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cDisposable batteries, which you just throw away when they stop working, are very bad for the planet and we want to use our biocells as a replacement,\u201d says Professor Chris Howe, Principal Investigator of the project in the Department of Biochemistry.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Conventional chemical batteries are built with mined materials like lithium that cause a range of environmental issues: extraction methods are energy-intensive, release greenhouse gases and cause local ecological degradation and habitat destruction. In contrast the biocells are made of common, inexpensive and largely recyclable materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The power output of the biocells is low, so the technology can\u2019t be used for devices that need lots of power. The team\u2019s idea is to use it to power large numbers of devices that would normally be powered using small, disposable batteries \u2013 for example remote controls or smoke alarms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cOur technology could replace millions of small disposable batteries with a much a cleaner source of energy \u2013 that\u2019s a huge environmental benefit and a really exciting prospect,\u201d says Howe<\/strong>, adding, \u201cthere are so many potential applications.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The technology holds promise for electricity provision in rural, off-grid locations, and Howe says that providing readily available power in low-income countries could be life-changing. In sub-Saharan Africa, for example, mobile phone ownership and coverage is wide, but charging facilities can be very limited in remote rural areas. If the technology can be scaled up to charge mobile phones this improves not only communication, but access to information and online tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The team also sees potential to use biocells to power environmental sensors, for example to monitor water quality in remote locations. These require a long-lasting, uninterrupted supply of power and, as they\u2019re often in hard-to-access locations, must run reliably without human intervention to change batteries when they run out.<\/p>\n\n\n

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From lab to market<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Now it\u2019s time to prove the biocells have a competitive edge over chemical batteries – and move them into the commercial realm. Grants from the University\u2019s BBSRC Impact Acceleration Account have enabled the team to develop their ideas further by bringing in bio-designer Lucia Giron and electrical engineer Lifu Tan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cKnowing how the technology works is one thing, but transforming it into a product is a very different ball game,\u201d says Bombelli.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n

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Lucia Giron \u00a9 Jacqueline Garget<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Coming from an art and design background, Giron is an unusual addition to the Biochemistry Department \u2013 but essential to translating the team\u2019s discoveries into consumer products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cMy goal is to find ways of making these prototype living systems into real-world sustainable energy solutions, by connecting scientific investigation with design practice,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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The algae clock was Giron’s creation, and she\u2019s also produced a temperature sensor interface and a beautifully designed demonstrator cell. Via its start-up company e-<\/em>Pho<\/a>, the team is currently in talks with potential clients about specific applications and while these remain confidential, they have several ideas they can showcase. One uses a biocell to keeps tabs on a potted plant in the lab.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u00a9 Jacqueline Garget<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n
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\u201cWe have sensors measuring light intensity around the plant, air temperature and soil moisture \u2013 all powered continuously by our biocell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We can look at this data on a connected phone app to know exactly what the plant needs, for example when to water it, so we can keep it thriving,\u201d says Tan<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Since the team set to work in 2006, a number of other teams across the world have begun investigating similar ideas, but Howe says his has a march on them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWe\u2019ve been one of the most significant places in the world for development and research into this technology, and our continued experiments and refinements have enabled us to increase the power output of the biocell over 20-fold since we started,\u201d he<\/strong> says.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Inspiring future scientists<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In a different branch of their efforts, the team has developed a \u2018living toolkit\u2019 and dedicated website that they use to run very popular classroom workshops in secondary schools. They also run smaller community events, such as Makespace workshops, for adults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cSchool pupils love the chance to build a fully functional system step by step, to grow the algae and run their own experiments,\u201d says Bombelli. \u201cThey learn how the system works and how the materials they use affect the results, and they get an insight into different subject disciplines – from biology and electronics.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n

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Howe<\/strong> adds: \u201cMy view is that the school plant science curriculum isn\u2019t very inspiring or contemporary. We want to give schools something that demonstrates the significant applications of plant science in the modern world. Hopefully our workshops will inspire more interest in plant science, and encourage more young people to study it at university and have careers in it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Race against time<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The team\u2019s two-pronged approach reflects their commitment to helping meet our energy demands more sustainably for the long-term. Commercialising the biocell for greener energy production must go hand in hand with reducing overall energy demand through education and behavioural change. The algae-powered clock continues to tick.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The digital clock says it\u2019s 2:42 \u2013 the blinking colon counting the seconds below a mysterious green box. At a time when \u2018being green\u2019 matters more than ever, a team of Cambridge researchers has devised a way to power electronic devices that\u2019s taken the brief quite literally. \u201cWe\u2019ve found a way to tap into a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":180076,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","nova_meta_subtitle":"Can Cambridge-developed \u2018biocells\u2019 reduce our reliance on batteries?","footnotes":""},"categories":[5572],"tags":[14796,28367,6843,13393,16733,13634],"supplier":[22783,28366],"class_list":["post-180034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bio-based","tag-batteries","tag-biocells","tag-biochemicals","tag-bioelectronics","tag-energystorage","tag-photosynthesis","supplier-cambridge-university","supplier-e-pho"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180034","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=180034"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180034\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":180113,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180034\/revisions\/180113"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/180076"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=180034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=180034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=180034"},{"taxonomy":"supplier","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/supplier?post=180034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}