Sustainable batteries of the future are made of fungi

Sustainable batteries of the future are made of fungi

The wind turbine power of the future can be stored in sustainable batteries made from fungi. In the future, when solar cells and wind turbines produce more electricity than we can use, the energy can be stored in environmentally friendly and inexpensive batteries made from fungi. At least that’s the case if you ask PhD student Sebastian Birkedal Kristensen, his fellow researchers lector Jens Laurids Sørensen and Jens Muff and the rest of the researchteam, who invented the fungal battery and are now working to develop it on a larger scale.

Sustainable batteries of the future are made of fungi

The wind turbine power of the future can be stored in sustainable batteries made from fungi. In the future, when solar cells and wind turbines produce more electricity than we can use, the energy can be stored in environmentally friendly and inexpensive batteries made from fungi. At least that’s the case if you ask PhD student Sebastian Birkedal Kristensen, his fellow researchers lector Jens Laurids Sørensen and Jens Muff and the rest of the researchteam, who invented the fungal battery and are now working to develop it on a larger scale.

The current production of batteries based on metals such as vanadium has a large impact on the climate, and the environmentally harmful substances are difficult to recycle. This is a problem, as the green communities of the future will need battery capacity to e.g. store power on windy days for use on calm days.

- “Rather than depend on mining, which is harmful to the planet, we use organic substances that we extract from fungi we grow ourselves. Quinones from fungi can be used as electrolytes in the battery, are environmentally friendly to produce and, when the battery is worn out, all elements are 100% biodegradable”, says PhD student Sebastian Birkedal from AAU Esbjerg.

Watch the video where Sebastian Birkedal talks about the technology

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Contact

Jens Laurids Sørensen
Associate Professor
Phone: (0045) 9940 7659
E-mail: jls@bio.aau.dk

Jens Muff
Associate Professor
Phone: (0045) 2787 9822
E-mail: jm@bio.aau.dk

Sebastian Birkedal
PhD Fellow
Phone: (0045) 9940 7678
E-mail: sbk@bio.aau.dk