Intestine-inspired biobattery generates eight times more power

Clogged pores in traditional microbial fuel cells

A microbial fuel cell is a promising bioenergy innovation that generates electricity by relying on living microorganisms to digest organic matter, as reported by New Atlas. In these devices, active bacteria release electrons as they feed, and an anode collects the current while liquid electrolytes facilitate electrochemical reactions. Standard flat electrodes restrict microbial settlement due to limited surface area. While porous matrices such as paper or foam expand colonisation room, dense bacterial clusters known as biofilms rapidly choke the pores, cutting off nutrients and trapping toxic metabolic waste.

“Porous structures can be easily clogged by biofilm formation, so we had a lot of problems with nutrient delivery, waste buildup, or uneven biofilm growth.”

— Prof. Seokheun Choi, Binghamton University

Hydrogel pillars that mimic intestinal tissue

To solve this clogging issue, a research team led by Prof. Seokheun Choi at the Binghamton University Bioelectronics and Microsystems Lab turned to human digestive anatomy. In the gut, millions of finger-like projections called villi maximise surface area while liquid flows freely between them. As documented by New Atlas, researchers Ruohan Zhang, Botian Wang, and Choi fabricated artificial villi using an electrically conductive hydrogel. The hydrogel blend combines polyvinyl alcohol, reduced graphene oxide, and the conductive polymer PEDOT to retain moisture and transmit electric charges.

Dormant spores and power production

Instead of applying fresh cultures immediately, the scientists embedded dormant Bacillus subtilis spores directly throughout the artificial villi, according to New Atlas. When introduced to an organic nutrient bath, the dormant spores germinate into functional bacteria that transfer electrons outside their cell walls. The hydrogel acts as the anode, paired across an ion-exchange membrane with a modified carbon-cloth cathode. This engineered prototype generated over eight times more electricity per unit volume than flat electrode setups without suffering from biofilm suffocation, representing a remarkable biological invention.

Decentralised power and wastewater applications

Because the system converts organic waste into direct electrical current, the research team aims to apply this biobattery architecture to wastewater treatment and environmental sensing, as outlined by New Atlas. Placing arrays of these biobatteries inside municipal drainage pipes could support long-term sustainability goals by generating local power directly from municipal runoff. The team continues testing varied pillar sizes to optimize fluid flow and power output across scaled pipeline configurations, opening new avenues for a potential patent and commercial deployment.

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