Bio-batteries are a safer and greener power source for soldiers
New battery technology developed by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) harnesses the power of DNA to provide a safer and greener alternative to generating power.
Dstl’s Synthetic Biology Lead Petra Oyston said: “The current battery technology that our soldiers are using is containing a lot of energy in chemical format and if that battery gets shot for example it’s going to explode and burst into flames.
“Our bio-battery is made out of DNA, enzymes, lactate and water. If you shot it, it would just go splat so there’s a significant safety benefit.”
The naturally occurring products in the new bio-batteries are degraded using enzymes, which then release electrons, which can then be captured and used as power.
The Office of Naval Research Global (ONRG) from the US Department of Defence collaborated on the project, alongside Touchlight Genetics and the University of Utah, and ONRG’s Chief Scientist Patrick Rose said: “For defence, our warfighters continue to carry more and more electronics that require the power and that means carrying batteries with them.
“These batteries might provide a solution, a greener solution to generating power.”
Touchlight Genetics Head of Platforms Tom Adie said that the batteries could be dried down and reconstituted when needed. “You have an incredibly energy-dense battery that can be carried very portably. It’s very light and you can reconstitute it anywhere: seawater, freshwater. So you can carry it on ships; you can carry it in disaster areas.”
The US Army Research Laboratory was working on a similar project in 2019. Its scientists and partners from the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory developed a lithium-ion battery that didn’t catch fire.
In 2020, it also announced that it was working on a virtually ‘unbreakable’ battery that is set to roll out in 2024.
As battlefields become more modern, the burden on soldiers increases as they are expected to carry more electronic based devices. Batteries are obviously necessary to power these devices so we are likely to see more innovations in this field as the need for safer and greener batteries become more prevalent.
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