New Fuel Cell-Based Charger Uses Soil Microbes to Produce Energy
11 May 2011 | Alternative Energy | 2 Comments
A team of researchers from the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, managed to develope a cellphone charger that uses the microbes in the soil to generate electricity. This fuel cell-based charger could be a real solution in third world countries, where people still lack power.
According to Dr. Aviva Presser Aiden, the mind behind this project, this new device is not very hard to build (it could be built for even less than a dollar’s cost).
SEAS researchers explained that their new fuel cell consists of a conductive surface, which accumulates free electrons created by naturally-occurring soil microbes. During the course of their biological metabolic processes, microbes produce “free electrons”.
If researchers will finish their work succesfully, the technology could be applied to window screens or soda cans (they used this technology to power LED lights in a lab for 14 months).
Being such an impressive technology,it received a $100,000 grant last month, from The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Grand Challenges program.
Tags: cheap electricity, dirt power, fuel cell, microbe powered charger, phone charger, soil microbes
hello,
I have read this topic,and i want to ask something about alter energy fuel cell.
i am a student from Taiwan’s technology college.I have taken a project which is to produce energy from soil.And would you mind my offense to ask how can i construct a soil energy fuel cell? could you give me the idea which can trigger my inspiration? really thx a lot.
Jack I will help you, but I need some time for that. I have this week some important thing to do, so I’ll contact you as soon as possible (next week). Is that ok?