CSIC researchers create an artificial plant that generates energy

A battery with roots, stems and leaves that, through its fluid system, is capable of mimicking the life cycle of a plant and generating energy. This is the flower-shaped, paper-based, biodegradable battery that has been created at the Barcelona Institute of Microelectronics (IMB-CNM) of the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), and the results of which are now being published in Energy & Enviromental Science.

Nature is the source of inspiration for this device, eco-designed to meet the needs of precision agriculture and a world that needs greater food production that is, in turn, more sustainable. The battery (baptized as FlowER Battery, as an abbreviation for the English Evaporation Flow Redox Battery) operates following the principle of transpiration of a plant and moves the reagents through its microfluidic structure until they are expelled by evaporation. The energy is produced thanks to the electrochemical reaction generated by the redox species in a pair of porous carbon electrodes.

“This battery represents a new milestone in our line of research, which proposes a new paradigm of batteries that follow the life cycle of the devices they power. In this case, we have adapted it to a biodegradable or compostable end-of-life, very suitable for agricultural or forest environments”, explains lead author Juan Pablo Esquivel, currently an Ikerbasque researcher at BCMaterials and at the IMB-CNM-CSIC at the beginning of the Project.

The current conventional batteries used to power precision agriculture devices must be removed from the field for proper recycling, otherwise they generate a serious impact on the environment.

The FlowER Battery is capable of producing enough energy to power commercial wireless sensors that can report parameters related to field needs, such as light, soil moisture, or temperature.

“During the development of the battery, sustainability has been prioritized, to create a disruptive technology within the ecological limits of the planet and capable of solving the energy needs of electronic devices,” says Marina Navarro, from the IMB-CNM and first author of the publication. “The battery is based on paper and non-toxic materials, so it is not harmful to nature. In addition, together with the composting group (GICOM) of the Autonomous University of Barcelona, ​​we have evaluated its biodegradability and non-toxicity following international standards », she underlines.

The results are part of the Bideko project, financed by the State Research Agency (Ministry of Science and Innovation) and the European Union with Next Generation EU funds. Coordinated by the company Fuelium, the research centers IMB-CNM-CSIC, the Basque Center for Materials, Applications and Nanostructures (BCMaterials), the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA-UAB), the Center for Ecological Research and Forest Applications ( CREAF), the Composting Research Group of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), the GAIKER technology center and the multinational ArcelorMittal.