Moss-based electricity

Moss-based electricity

A British team of researchers wants to take advantage of the electrons released by plants during photosynthesis to generate electricity to power electronic devices

  A Swiss designer and two British researchers want to take advantage of the resources offered by nature, without taking advantage of it. They intend to use the electrons released by plants during photosynthesis to produce electricity and, with it, feed all kinds of small devices. A very inefficient process, but very ecological.

  Scientists from the University of Cambridge (United Kingdom) have called this technology microbial photo fuel cells. And they have already managed to give life, for a few minutes, to a simple FM radio. According to Wired magazine, they have preferred to create a modest but achievable technology, and not wait for decades of development to present a more interesting product.

To create this radio powered by plants, the researchers and the designer have created a table with ten moss pots connected to each other. When exposed to light, they generate enough electricity to charge a condenser with the most basic form of battery, which gives life to the sound system.

At the moment, explains Fabienne Felder, the Swiss designer who created the original concept, they have only been able to take advantage of one out of every one thousand electrons that plants shed during photosynthesis. They have patented the idea, and they assure that they are already working on finding formulas to make the process more efficient. Perhaps other species of moss of which there are thousands throughout the world, or new methods of capturing their energy.

In addition to that reduced, but usable, electricity capacity, mosses have other properties that make them useful for a home. They are a good thermal and acoustic insulator, and also useful as an air and water filter.

"I think that on a small scale we are more or less close to being able to transform people's house plants into small electric generators to charge their phones," Felder told Wired. "On a large scale, especially outdoors, the right combination of plants can be crucial and we still need to investigate further."