The University of Cambridge team said the structures help the sun-loving bacteria to grow quickly, whereupon their waste electrons left over from photosynthesis can be harvested to power small electronics.
While similar projects have been trialled by other researchers, the Cambridge team believe that providing them with the right kind of home increases the amount of energy they can extract by an order of magnitude.
The approach is competitive with traditional methods of renewable bioenergy generation and has already reached solar conversion efficiencies that can outcompete many current methods of biofuel generation.
The project also suggests that ‘biohybrid’ sources of solar energy could be an important component in the zero-carbon energy mix while having a lower carbon and environmental footprint than traditional renewables, such as solar power.
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