Energy storage continues to challenge mankind: we know how to produce it in countless ways (you will remember them from previous contents). However, one of them has caught our attention because of its extreme controversy: this is the battery that works with a compound from your blood that they had never dared to manufacture before.
The most controversial battery in history: how they intend to make it work
A new kind of battery is being proposed that could revolutionize energy storage. Researchers have created a prototype for what’s being called a “blood battery” – a battery that derives its power not from traditional chemicals but from hemoglobin in blood.
Hemoglobin is the protein that gives blood its red color and carries oxygen through the body. The blood battery prototype unveiled recently is the first battery ever to harness the power of hemoglobin.
The concept is highly innovative yet controversial, given it utilizes a substance directly from the human body. The blood battery aims to provide a novel way of storing renewable energy that is high capacity, low cost, and eco-friendly.
But it raises complex ethical questions about using blood components in consumer products. While the technology is still in early stages, researchers are hopeful the blood battery can become a transformative energy solution if ongoing challenges can be resolved.
This is how the first “blood battery” in history works: it is efficient and powerful, but not necessarily good news
The key innovation that enables the blood battery is the use of hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen, as a catalyst and electrode. Hemoglobin is able to bind to oxygen reversibly, meaning it can gain and lose oxygen molecules easily.
This property allows hemoglobin to act as a reduction-oxidation catalyst. In the blood battery, hemoglobin extracts electrons from oxygen when it is bound to the hemoglobin, forming oxidized hemoglobin (deoxyhemoglobin).
The electrons then move to the cathode via an external circuit, generating electricity. To regenerate the hemoglobin, electrons are supplied back to the deoxyhemoglobin at the anode, converting it back to oxyhemoglobin.
This cycle repeats, allowing continuous electron flow. The hemoglobin also performs a key function at the cathode. It accelerates the reduction of oxygen molecules by up to a million times, forming hydroxide ions.
This catalyzed reduction generates a high density of hydroxide ions at the cathode, enhancing the battery’s capacity. Reversible oxygen binding enables repeated oxidation and reduction, while catalytic activity boosts the battery’s power and capacity.
The first prototype of the “blood battery”: this is how it was created
Recently, an interdisciplinary team of researchers at the University of Sydney unveiled the first-ever prototype of a battery powered by hemoglobin from blood. Led by Dr. Mahdokht Shaibani, the researchers were able to extract hemoglobin from bovine blood and stabilize it into a solid state.
This allowed them to harness the protein’s ability to exchange electrons and catalyze reduction and oxidation reactions – the basic processes that power a battery. To create the prototype, the researchers coated an electrode with the purified hemoglobin.
They then paired it with a solid electrolytic membrane and an air cathode. Initial tests showed that this novel bio-battery generated a sustained current in excess of 100 microAmps for more than 30 hours.
While more development is still needed, the researchers believe their proof-of-concept presents exciting possibilities for the future of sustainable energy storage. This bio-battery takes advantage of nature’s own charge carriers that are readily available in blood.
If you’re a regular reader of our content, you’ll remember that we always take a critical look at innovation, which will either be 100% sustainable or it won’t be. In this case, a hemoglobine battery is not exactly what we had in mind to use for the cars of the future. However, remember that it is an experimental prototype and has not crossed any boundaries.