Matsushita's Bio-Nano Fuel Cell Runs on Sugar

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd Advanced Technology Research Laboratories is a pioneer in the development of photoelectrochemical bio-nano fuel cells. Often called a "sugar fuel cells," their technology allows them to utilize anything containing sugar as power source. The system generates electricity from electrons extracted through a mechanism of using enzymes to break sugar into water and carbon dioxide.

Joint research with Arizona State University in the fall of 2002 showed that the electrical output of the sugar fuel cells dramatically increased when artificial chlorophyll was used as an electrode. The idea of this artificial chlorophyll using a porphyrin compound, a light-sensitive pigment, was inspired by photosynthesis in plants.

In the latest experiment, the electrical current was about one percent of the output of an AA-size battery. This is about a quarter of the efficiency of living organisms when they recover energy from sugar, so improving the efficiency of the artificial cells will be one of the challenges needed to bring these fuel cells to practical application. With further advances, this technology could find a range of uses, from sugar-powered personal computers, to heart pacemakers that eliminate the need of surgery for battery replacement because they can obtain energy from glucose in the blood. Power generation from food waste may also be possible in the future.




Posted: 2003/09/27 11:51:50 AM
Japanese version