In a small lab, near a lake at the edge of West Berkeley, sits the
prototype of what could revolutionize battery power as we know it. The
secret to this power? Algae.
OK, just hang with me here. Lots of research has
already been done on algae’s possible power capabilities. Prototype
creator Adam Freeman says this new kind of battery, the one he’s working
on, could power even a Tesla. And he says it could do it 200X greater
than the current lithium-based battery used today.
He’s created a research company called alGAS that aims to prove just that.
Freeman says the algae battery also charges faster and lasts longer
than current ion batteries used in, say, your cell phone, iPad… or a
Tesla. As Freeman explains, paper-thin fibers in algae provide an easier
surface for ions to get through, resulting in a charge in as little as
11 seconds, not minutes or hours.
Here is how a current battery charges, using lots of what we currently mine may be going extinct or, worse, cause cancer:
Though there isn’t much by way of illustration to show how this works
for algae, Ryan Bethencourt, founder of the Berkeley BioLabs, was able
to send me this brief video that sort of explains the process:
Tesla pledged to use U.S. materials only,
which does cut the cost. Still, it’s got to be more than what it costs
to grow and use algae powered batteries, right? Right, according to
Freeman. He says he only needs $1,500 for the prototype and that he can
have his algae battery ready for mass production for a mere $5,000 by
this summer.
The implications for this go beyond cars. In theory you could power
your entire house. Yes, a living, breathing algae plant could make your
house “go.” A French biochemist already powered a streetlight with the stuff.
What makes Freeman’s prototype different from previous tests is the use
of a bio-safe polymer. The polymer is a critical element that binds the
fibers together to create a better interaction with the electron
charge.
While the prototype is still basically just a bunch of jars full of
algae on the shelf of some lab, the potential, according to Freeman, is
very big.
“Think of driving your car on a living battery that charges in seconds
with a battery that costs almost nothing and is actually good for the
environment.”
Source: Extraa Education
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