Scientists are working on batteries made from mold, which will decompose on their own at the end of their lifespan
A battery that is non-toxic and does not require recycling – this is exactly the kind of accumulator that scientists from the Swiss Empa laboratories are working on. Their battery can be printed on a 3D printer and is currently capable of powering devices like temperature sensors for several days.
Temperature sensors, smartphones, laptops, as well as electric cars or electric trucks. All these devices and many others that are part of our daily lives need a battery to function. Along with the increasing number of these devices, electronic waste is also increasing. As studies by scientists show, in the future, at least for some devices, special fungi could serve as batteries that would decompose on their own at the end of their life cycle.
Scientists at the Empa institute in Switzerland are working on developing exactly such batteries. As part of their three-year project, they managed to create a battery that uses two types of fungi as a kind of microbial fuel cell. Of course, this will likely never function as a replacement for batteries in electric vehicles, which need to store significantly more energy than the battery that scientists managed to create in the lab.
Their cell, utilizing the metabolism of two types of fungi, can already power energy-efficient sensors and detectors for several days. In an experiment, a temperature sensor was powered for several days, which can be practically used, for example, for measuring temperature and humidity in agriculture, as well as in air research.
Scientists are already working to ensure that the battery or rather the “microbial fuel cell” as the authors call it, can supply energy for significantly longer and thus extend its lifespan. Further research could also increase the power that this “battery” currently provides.
The researchers then print the cell on a 3D printer, which poses additional challenges. According to Gustav Nyström, head of the cellulose and wood materials laboratory, it is very challenging to find a material in which the fungi will have enough nutrients and grow well. However, they succeeded by mixing fungi directly into the printing ink. Another challenge was extruding the ink during printing to avoid killing the cells due to high temperature.
The biggest advantage of the batteries developed by Swiss scientists is, unlike those commonly used today, the absence of any toxicity. The battery is also biodegradable at the end of its life cycle, so its recycling does not need to be addressed.
