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Virus-Based Batteries: Tiny, Flexible, Cheap?

Eric Bland, Discovery News

Gram for gram, the virus-based batteries are roughly twice as powerful as traditional chemical batteries, said Belcher, although the battery cells are so small -- about four microns across -- that exact measurements are difficult. It takes about an hour for an M13 battery to form.

While one tiny cell can't hold much energy, when many cells are combined they can power real devices.

Nine months ago Belcher created a button-sized, M13-based battery and put it into her laser pointer. After numerous recharges she is still on her first virus-based battery.

"It hasn't failed yet," said Belcher.

Like her laser-pointer battery, other virus-based batteries would be rechargeable and more environmentally friendly that traditional batteries. The virus batteries are assembled at room temperature, have a relatively neutral pH, and use smaller amounts of potentially troublesome metals like lithium or cobalt.

Because the batteries are so small they will first be used to power small things, such as lab-on-a-chip technology and implantable devices that would monitor patient health, say Belcher and other researchers.

"This technique has tremendous potential to monitor diseases like cardiovascular disease and cancer," said Kimberly Kelly, an oncologist at the University of Virginia. After chemotherapy or surgery for cancer, patients must be monitored to ensure the cancer doesn't return.

In theory, a small device implanted under the skin, powered by M13, could detect proteins produced by renewed cancer cells. In response, it could light up (literally, by triggering a small visible LED, as one example), alerting both patient and physician. It would be like a check engine light for cancer or heart attacks.

"[Belcher] is pretty close to developing this technology for light-based applications," said Kelly. "I could see them coming out in two years, five years at worst."

Eventually Belcher hopes to scale up virus-based batteries for larger devices like computers or even cars that wouldn't need a separate battery; the battery would instead be built into the surface of the car itself.

"It would be part of the manufacturing process," said Belcher. "What we do is provide the surface and the ions, and the batteries built themselves."

Related Links:

Eric Bland's blog: Interior Design

How Stuff Works: Traditional Batteries

Planet Green

Discovery Tech