A research team with the CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization) in Australia is working on a project to integrate energy-generating materials into our clothing. By simply collecting the energy in our movement, vibrations, and friction, our clothing could create enough juice to power up our mobile phone, mp3 player, etc. The Australian Defense Department awarded the team of researchers a $4.4 million grant to deem the technology feasible.

Dr Adam Best, project leader and employee of the CSIRO Energy Technology Division “predicts that the first power shirts - or flexible energy devices- could be developed within five years,” states a Sydney Morning Herald report. Their concept includes the technology of piezoelectrics as the energy generating material. This popularly researched material produces a charge displacement when it is flexed. It naturally occurs in soft chrystalline structures like quartz, and Rochelle salts.

The idea is to develop a fabric woven with piezoelectric material so that any movement on, in, or around your body would stimulate the fiber to generate power. The clothing would be woven with flexible batteries that could act as storage unit series for your devices. The next step is to figure out how to wirelessly transmit that power collected in your t-shirt to your mobile phone without damaging your body due to intense exposure to electro-magnetic fields.

Dr. Best believes that the development of this concept could revolutionize the form and usage of daily appliances. “With printable flexible circuit boards, the day may not be far off when people could make phone calls simply by talking into their collars.”

Interestingly, defense programs and departments are commonly funding projects that develop the potential for remote electrical energy generation. The Australian Defense Department sees this as an opportunity to power “back-to-base” medical monitoring equipment, radios, and other such powered devices used in the field. As it could revolutionize battle in the field, it could also serve as a highly effective tool in field research and remote backpacking trips to power gps devices, emergency radios, data recording and transmittance devices…

There are many similar ideas out there along the lines of energy generating wearables. A collaboration team with members from Michigan Technological University, Arizona State, and NanoSonic, Inc., is developing a backpack with piezoelectric fibers integrated into the straps. Alberto Villarreal, a young San Francisco-based designer, has gained recognition for a concept shoe that harnesses electricity from your step. With the development of these concepts into real products we could be actively moving towards an energy revolution.

Who ever thought that asking your neighbor for sugar could carry more connotations than that of baking necessities? Well, Sony is working on a product that will make your neighbor think twice about your consumptive demands.

Sony recently announced their current activity in developing a new bio-battery. The battery generates electricity from carbohydrates (currently sugar) and utilizes enzymes as the catalyst. The sample battery has proven to be able to output 50 mW, or enough to power a portable mp3 player. This is the world’s highest yet for a passive-type bio battery.

According to the Sony Press Release:

Sony developed a system of breaking down sugar to generate electricity that involves efficiently immobilizing enzymes and the mediator (electronic conduction materials) while retaining the activity of the enzymes at the anode. Sony also developed a new cathode structure which efficiently supplies oxygen to the electrode while ensuring that the appropriate water content is maintained. Optimizing the electrolyte for these two technologies has enabled these power output levels to be reached.

The newly developed bio battery incorporates an anode consisting of sugar-digesting enzymes and mediator, and a cathode comprising oxygen-reducing enzymes and mediator, either side of a cellophane separator. The anode extracts electrons and hydrogen ions from the sugar (glucose) through enzymatic oxidation as follows:
Glucose -> Gluconolactone + 2 H+ + 2 e-
The hydrogen ion migrates to the cathode through the separator. Once at the cathode, the hydrogen ions and electrons absorb oxygen from the air to produce water:
(1/2) O2 + 2 H+ + 2 e- -> H2O
Through this process of electrochemical reaction, the electrons pass through the outer circuit to generate electricity.

Since the battery does not require the user to do any mixing or formulating, the process is quite simple and it requires very little of the owner. But, each cm2 can only produce 1.5 mW in the first minute, so the battery has to be quite large. The current dimensions are 39×39x39mm- I don’t know how portable and functional it makes this object, but it is a step in an interesting direction.

The most applicable situation I see for this technology is for remote electrical generation necessities (which puts an interesting spin on neighborly sugar supply). For locations or trips that could not benefit from portable solar panels, sugar is a new alternative. As the design progresses and the technology is tuned, I am sure they will be able to come up with something on a more practical and portable scale.

Again, the question arises about genetically modified sugar due to increased demand of the material. Will we begin manufacturing it in the lab and what will this do to the sugar farmers across the world? These questions are always something to consider with the development of any technology using a finite, consumable resource.

It is although fun to imagine one day giving your cell phone a shot of liquid sugar when it starts beeping with low battery indication… Instead of cords, we will have IVs of liquid sugar lying about our apartment floor with a portal into our computer, our radio, our coffee maker…interesting.