Blue green algae: A powerhouse of computers

Dr. Aishwarya Yadav

What if you are being told that certain aquatic plant species especially algae have the capacity to generate the electricity which can be used to power the computers? Sounds strange, right? Research led by Professor Christopher Howe from University of Cambridge, Department of Biochemistry and Emre Ozer from Arm, a company working in the field of microprocessors, built a system similar in size to a conventional AA battery comprising of a type of cyanobacteria called Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 also known as “blue-green algae”. This tiny device when placed in your windowsill harvest the energy from sun through photosynthesis creating a small electrical current which then interacts with an aluminum electrode and is used to power a microprocessor.

The materials used in these tiny photovoltaic cells are easily available and can be recycled which makes them an ideal candidate for commercialization on a large scale for applications in small devices as the part of Internet of Things (IoT). An IoT system consists of smart devices that use embedded systems such as processors, sensors and wireless network. The systems based on IoT will now soon become a part of everyday life offering smart devices to automate homes, monitor a range of health parameters of patients, fitness wearables, and controlled use of water and electricity, among many, many other possibilities. The use of lithium-ion batteries to power an increasing demand of IoT devices in near future is not feasible since an enormous quantity of lithium will be needed which is three times more than what is actual manufactured across the globe annually. Hence, an environmentally-friendly alternative to conventional photovoltaic devices, this bio-photovoltaic energy harvester can do wonders powering an Arm Cortex-M0+ processor (a microprocessor widely used in Internet of Things applications) for six months within a temperature range of 13.8–30.7°C.  

Please see the following news Source(s) and original reference(s) therein:

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-05-algae-powered-scientists-reliable-renewable-biological.html

https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2022/EE/D2EE00233G

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Dr Smita Chaturvedi
Smita is an experimental condensed matter physicist. The quest for multifunctional materials motivates her. Smita finished her PhD from RDVV Jabalpur and BARC Mumbai in the year 2002 and worked as a research associate in IIT Mumbai and Oakland University, Michigan. Smita was awarded as a Fulbright Nehru Academic and Professional excellence fellow in 2018-19. Smita holds more than a decade of research and teaching experience. She possesses good knowledge about education system and research opportunities in India as well as abroad. Music and gardening are her mindful meditations.
Dr. Priyadarshini Karve
Dr Priyadarshini Karve has worked in the areas of household energy, decentralised waste-to-fuel technologies, climate change mitigation and adaptation, sustainable and climate-ready urbanisation, etc. She runs her own social green enterprise Samuchit Enviro Tech in Pune, focused on enabling access to sustainable products and services. She is also a co-founder of OrjaBox, a startup promoting solar thermal technologies. Dr Karve is a Founder Member of Clean Energy Access Network (CLEAN - a multi-state society of decentralised renewable energy practitioners and entrepreneurs) and Cleaner Cooking Coalition (CCC - an international organisation focused on promoting user-centric cooking energy technologies that are good for health as well as climate). She is also the National Convener of Indian Network on Ethics and Climate Change (INECC - focused on climate justice issues and working to bring people's voices in policy choices). Her work has been recognised by several national and international awards and honours.
Sanjay Khare
Sanjay Khare ,after his graduation in Electrical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, in 1986 has been associated with major Japanese & European Automotive OEMs in Indian Subcontinent for 35 years . Widely travelled across Europe & Asia , he has held positions across diverse functions of Automotive Corporations.
In his current role as Board Member and Vice President at Skoda Auto Volkswagen India , he is Chief Sustainability Catalyst to guide actions at Skoda Auto Volkswagen India along with the sister brands Audi, Porsche & Lamborghini.
He leads an active Climate Resilience program where the automotive major in India has already achieved Zero Waste to Landfill, Water Positive & Zero liquid Discharge Certification, Zero Accidents , targeting an 18.5 MW of installed Roof Top Solar plant at a single Automotive site in India in 2021 and fully Carbon Neutral Production by 2025.
Sanjay has done his Executive MBA from Management development Institute ,Gurgaon specialising in Strategy & Marketing . He has active interests in driving Cultural Change, Competency building , Human Motivation topics while adopting/ innovating the technological advancements and total quality revolution.He is also a Qualified Independent Director registered with Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Govt. of India. An active speaker on Automotive & Sustainability topics on National & International forums.
In personal life, he is an Endurance Cyclist having participated in many adventure ride expeditions . He also spends his time in developing mastery on Indian Classical Music instrument Sitar.