Microbially catalyzed bioelectrochemical power devices come of age

Abstract

Microbial extracellular electron transfer-based processes are rapidly progressing toward real-world wastewater treatment applications, but their technological progress as an electric power source remains elusive. It is mainly due to low and unstable power density and high internal resistance of the bioelectrochemical systems. In a recent Energy & Environmental Science article, Bombelli and coworkers report a bio-photovoltaic energy harvester system using photosynthetic microorganisms at the Al anode that can power a widely used microprocessor Arm Cortex M0+ for 6 months without supporting energy devices.