As bacteria feed on organic waste electrons are produced, so they could potentially be used as a source of power. A team of researchers at Binghamton University, NY have found a way to incorporate microbial fuel cells into a battery that is made of paper and also foldable. Since this new battery is paper-based, it is also completely biodegradable. (more…)
Batteries are not what they could be yet, and a lot of research goes into perfecting them. A team of researchers at the University of Waterloo, Canada have been focusing on perfecting the lithium-ion battery, mainly by looking at the negative anode of these batteries, which are typically made from graphite.
Building better and more sustainable batteries is certainly one of the goals for the future. And now, those packing peanuts used to protect fragile things from breaking during transport could play a major role in achieving this goal. A team of researchers at Perdue University has discovered that these packing peanuts could actually be used in lithium-ion batteries.
A team of researchers at the Ohio State University (OSU) successfully produced a dye-sensitized solar cell, which can store power by using air to decompose and re-form lithium peroxide. This device combines a solar cell and battery into one, and it is the first device of its kind. The adoption of this technology could also considerably lower the costs of solar cells.
The more widespread adoption of renewable sources of energy is at least in part hampered by our poor ability to store energy. But a team of MIT researchers has recently a made a breakthrough in developing a new battery system. This all-liquid battery system is more efficient at storing energy, and costs less to produce, than currently available solutions. The further development of this system and use could make solar and wind energy more attractive and therefore facilitate its wide scale adoption.
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