Moss Power Battery

Cosa fa?

This design tackles greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprint problems through three aspects. It minimizes anthropogenic heat generated, harnessing moss's natural CO2 absorption capabilities, and provides users with green energy.

La tua ispirazione

Our inspiration stems from the heat island effect, a pressing problem in Hong Kong caused by daily waste heat from the city. Lowering indoor temperatures becomes crucial in solving this issue. Additionally, our team has explored Microbial fuel cells, offering dual benefits of urban greening and power generation. Motivated by these challenges, we are dedicated to finding a sustainable solution. With our expertise in temperature reduction and innovative energy solutions, we aim to mitigate the heat island effect and create a more sustainable urban environment.

Come funziona?

Our battery harnesses the power of microorganisms within the soil, processing glucose obtained from photosynthesis to generate electricity. With carefully designed structures and selected materials, this process enables the production of usable electrical energy for various circuits and applications. Simultaneously, our battery serves a dual purpose by offering installation options on rooftops and building walls. By strategically placing the battery, it acts as a shield against direct solar radiation, effectively reducing the amount of heat transferred to the building. The deflection of solar radiation not only aids in maintaining a comfortable indoor temperature but also minimizes the environmental impact associated with excessive energy usage. This innovative approach leads to a significant decrease in the overall power consumption required for temperature conditioning.

Processo di progettazione

In the initial stages of our project, our team embarked on a quest for information to develop a battery solution. Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) caught our attention, although most MFC applications were centred around wastewater treatment. When we delved deeper into the underlying principles, we discovered the potential for harnessing microorganisms to coexist with plants to generate power. This realization led us to choose this as our project focus. Referencing a project that employed moss in building MFCs, we set it as the target for our prototype. Using the available information, our team constructed a container version of the prototype. Each container, measuring 54 centimetres square, yielded approximately 2.5 uW of power. While this output is not substantial enough for commercialization, it serves as a starting point. Our next step involves experimenting with different substrate materials to evaluate their impact on performance. Concurrently, our team is conducting diverse tests on various plants and materials to identify the most promising options with optimal performance. Additionally, team members are dedicated to applying our findings to address real-world problems, ensuring practical implications for our research.

In che modo è differente?

The prevailing plant-based Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) on the market face two significant challenges: the plants require extra care and attention, posing a potential burden for users; and the power generation efficiency of these MFCs remains relatively low. While our design still tackles the second challenge, we have chosen moss to address the first problem. Moss is a resilient plant that thrives in moist environments, making it well-suited for locations like Hong Kong. Our design eliminates the need for frequent user maintenance because the byproduct of the reaction is clean water, which can be used to sustain the moss. Additionally, most plant-based MFCs rely on soil, making them difficult to implement in diverse environments. In contrast, our structure replaces soil with other substances, facilitating easy deployment in urban areas such as rooftops and building walls.

Progetti per il futuro

Our future technical plans revolve around enhancing battery efficiency by conducting extensive testing of substance ratios. While moss has shown potential, we remain dedicated to exploring alternative plant species that deliver better performance. To achieve our goals, we aim to finalize production-ready recipes by the fourth quarter of this year, and deploy the first MVP in the first quarter of the next year. Our development team envisions expanding our battery portfolio to encompass diverse environments, such as marine settings.Ultimately, our vision is to establish this clean energy solution as a stable and globally recognized power source

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