Energy-Dense, Refillable Sugar Batteries

Jan-30-14 Researchers have developed a battery that has an as-yet unmatched density and can run on sugar, opening the door to a new generation of cheap, biodegradable and refillable batteries.

Created by a team at Virginia Tech, the battery differs from other sugar batteries previously developed with its magnitude-higher energy density. The battery is equipped with a synthetic enzymatic pathway that removes all the charge potentials from the sugar, allowing it to produce electricity as an enzymatic fuel cell. The battery is less expensive than conventional ones, since it does not use platinum catalysts, and it is completely biodegradable—releasing water as its main by-product. It is also refillable, and can be topped off "much like filling a printer cartridge with ink."

More Info about this Invention:

[DVICE.COM]
[EURAKALERT]

---