This system is comparable in size to an AAA battery. It contains a non-toxic type of algae called Synechocystis which harvests energy from the sun via photosynthesis. This tiny electrical current is then used to power a microprocessor by interacting with an aluminum electrode.
The system is made from inexpensive and easily recyclable materials. It can be easily replicated hundreds of thousand of times to power small devices in the Internet of Things. Researchers believe it will be most useful in remote areas or off-grid environments where little electrical power is available.
“The Internet of Things is growing in power and we believe this will require systems that can generate electricity rather than just store it like batteries,” stated Professor Christopher Howe from the University of Cambridge’s Department of Biochemistry. He was also the senior author of the paper.
He said, “Our photosynthetic device does not run down like a battery because it uses light continuously as an energy source.”
The experiment used the device to power an Arm Cortex M0+ microprocessor, which is widely used in Internet of Things devices. The device was tested in both indoor and semi-outdoor environments, with natural light and temperature fluctuations. After six months of continuous power production, the results were published.
The study was published in the journal Energy & Environmental Science on May 12, 2022.
“We were impressed at how consistent the system worked over long periods of time – it just kept going.” Dr. Paolo Bombelli, first author of this paper, is a professor in the University of Cambridge’s Department of Biochemistry.
Algae does not require feeding because it produces its own food through photosynthesis. Even though photosynthesis requires sunlight, the device can still produce power even in darkness. Researchers believe this is because algae continues to produce electricity by processing some of its food even when there is no light.
The Internet of Things (or Internet of Things) is a large and expanding network of electronic devices that use very little power and can share real-time data over the internet. Many billions of devices, from smartwatches and temperature sensors in power plants to wireless networks, are connected using low-cost computers chips and wireless network technology. This number is expected to reach one trillion by 2035, which will require a large number of portable energy sources.
Researchers claim that it would be impossible to power trillions of Internet of Things devices with lithium-ion lithium-ion batteries. It would require three times the amount of lithium produced worldwide each year. Traditional photovoltaic devices use hazardous materials with adverse environmental consequences.
This collaboration was between Arm, a company that designs microprocessors, and the University of Cambridge. Arm Research designed the Arm Cortex M0+ ultra-efficient testchip, constructed the board and set up data collection cloud interface in the experiments.