Innovation Pipeline

For all the unpleasant characteristics green algae possesses, it is beloved in cleantech circles because it can manufacture biofuels.

Now, scientists at the Angstrom Laboratory at Uppsala University in Sweden have discovered green algae’s distinctive cellulose nanostructure can also provide an effective coating substrate for batteries. It provides two advantages: it’s lighter in weight and much more environmentally friendly when battery components are recycled.

Researcher Albert Mihranyan and Professor Maria Strømme at the Nanotechnology and Functional Materials Department of Engineering Sciences at the Angstrom Laboratory have been studying algae for several years, primarily focusing on ways it can be used in pharmaceutical applications. The battery work came about as a collaboration with battery chemists and nanotechnologists at the university.

The researchers say algae could also serve as a new electrode material for energy-storage applications with a 50-nanometer layer of polypyrole. Calculations indicate that batteries from this material can store as much as 600 mA per cm3, with only 6 per cent loss through 100 charging cycles. The researchers reported their findings in an article in Nano Letters.

In a separate research effort focused on new materials for solar cells, Cornell scientists substituted carbon nanotubes for the traditional silicon. They believe this effort will help pave the way to much more efficient ways of converting light to electricity.

Solar cells used today lose lots of heat and the cells require constant external cooling. The researchers have proven the physics by fabricating and measuring new solar cells. They reported their results online in the journal Science.

The big challenge is taking the theoretical device and making it inexpensive and reliable for commercial applications. By Lee Bruno