Sony unveils paper-powered battery in Tokyo

Sony, the Japanese electronics manufacturer, has released details of a revolutionary paper-powered battery prototype that works by turning shredded paper into sugar to generate electricity.

If tests prove successful the commercial release of the battery could see customers being provided with the option of charging their mobile devices from waste material without the use of harmful chemicals or metals.

The battery works by combining the sugar, created from the decomposing materials with the enzyme cellulase, with further enzymes and oxygen to form electrons and hydrogen ions. The battery then uses the electrons to generate electricity. According to the BBC, researchers at Sony likened the process to that of how white ants and termites digest wood and turn it into energy. Sony added that the research was an extension of its previous study that saw its iconic Sony Walkman being powered by fruit juice.

Sony unveiled the battery prototype at the Eco-Products exhibition in Tokyo last month, where children were invited to witness the process themselves. They were shown that by dropping pieces of paper and cardboard into a mixture of both water and enzymes, which was then shaken, a propeller connected to the equipment would soon rotate. “Using a 'fuel' as simple as old greetings cards - the sort of cards that millions of us will be receiving this Christmas - the bio battery can deliver enough energy to power a small fan,” said Sony’s senior researcher at its Advanced Material Research Lab, Yuichi Tokita. “Of course, this is still at the very early stages of its development, but when you imagine the possibilities that this technology could deliver, it becomes very exciting indeed,” adds Tokita.

Championing the idea is Greenpeace who told the BBC of its concerns related to the toxic chemicals that go hand in hand with the production of batteries and again in their recycling. “To provide a greener technology could be a potential magic bullet. So from that point of view this is interesting, and I think it's fantastic that companies like Sony are looking to make the generation of energy more environmentally friendly,” said Executive Director of Greenpeace UK, John Sauven.

Despite Sony claiming that the battery is already powerful enough to run standard music players, the power produced by the prototype showcased in Tokyo is well below that of commercially sold batteries.

 

Image 01: Sony Corporation

Image 02: Justin Hall | Flickr

Image 03: Scalespeeder | Flickr