Batteries usually require rare and unsustainable materials, but a technique to use power generated by bacterial photosynthesis could power small devices for cheap
, which creates a current, or they create conditions in which the aluminium anode in the container is corroded in a chemical reaction that produces electrons. Because the experiment ran without any significant degrading of the anode the researchers believe that the cyanobacteria are producing the bulk of the current.
The approach could be scaled up, says Howe, but further research is needed to know how far. “It’s not entirely straightforward,” he says. “So putting one on your roof isn’t going to provide the power supply for your house at this stage. There’s quite a bit more to do on that front. But [it could work] in rural areas of low and middle income countries, for example, in applications where a small amount of power might be very useful, such as environmental sensors or charging a mobile phone.
The researchers have experimented with creating a similar enclosure from empty plastic bottles and believe that effective devices could be produced very cheaply, with commercial application possible within five years. They have also found species of algae that create higher currents.
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