Computer powered by colony of blue-green algae has run for six months

Matthew Sparkes is a writer.

A computer has been powered by blue-green algae for six months. Similar power generators could run a range of small devices cheaply in the future, without the need for the rare and unsustainable materials used in batteries.

Christopher Howe and his colleagues at the University of Cambridge built a small enclosure that was about the size of an AA battery. The colony of Synechocystis sp was placed inside. The blue-green algae, known as PCC 6803, produce oxygen through photosynthesis when exposed to sunlight.

The device was placed on a windowsill at Paolo Bombelli's home during a covid-19 lock down in February and stayed there until August. It ran an Arm chip that provided a continuous current.