Concordia researchers create a technology to harness the
electrical energy from plants
(November 25, 2015) As
world leaders prepare to gather in France for the 2015 United Nations
Conference on Climate Change next week, global warming — and how to stop it —
is a hot topic.
To limit climate change, experts say that we need to reach
carbon neutrality by the end of this century at the latest. To achieve that
goal, our dependence on fossil fuels must be reversed. But what energy source
will take its place? Researchers from Concordia University in Montreal just
might have the answer: algae.
In a study published in the journal Technology, a team led
by Concordia engineering professor Muthukumaran Packirisamy describe their
invention: a power cell that harnesses electrical energy from the
photosynthesis and respiration of blue-green algae.
Why plants? Because the energy is already there.
“Both photosynthesis and respiration, which take place in
plants cells, involve electron transfer chains. By trapping the electrons
released by blue-green algae during photosynthesis and respiration, we can
harness the electrical energy they produce naturally,” says Packirisamy.
Why blue-green algae? Because it’s everywhere.
Also known as cyanobacteria, blue-green algae are the most
prosperous microorganisms on earth, evolutionarily speaking. They occupy a
broad range of habitats across all latitudes. And they’ve been here forever:
the planet's early fauna and flora owe their makeup to cyanobacteria, which
produced the oxygen that ultimately allowed higher life forms to flourish.
“By taking advantage of a process that is constantly
occurring all over the world, we’ve created a new and scalable technology that
could lead to cheaper ways of generating carbon-free energy,” says Packirisamy.