In one of the promos for the new CBS fall drama Cane, Jimmy Smit’s character can be heard saying “Sugar is the new oil.” It sounds silly, but it could be true. Sugarcane is, after all, more efficiently turned into ethanol than is corn. And now comes news that Sony has developed a sugar-powered battery - it generates electricity from carbohydrates.
The device was developed based on the same power generation principles found in living organisms. Test batteries showed the ability to produce 50 milliwatts - currently the world’s highest level of power production for passive-type bio batteries (a system in which reactive substances such as glucose and oxygen are absorbed into electrodes through a process of natural diffusion). By combining 4 battery units, the supplied power is sufficient to operate a typical MP3 player or cell phone.
And sugar-based batteries may offer some very real advantages.
Sugar, a naturally occurring energy source, is a regenerative material, produced by plants through photosynthesis. It can be found in most areas of the Earth and therefore, sugar-powered bio batteries can be seriously considered as an ecologically-friendly energy device of the future. Sony says it will continue to work on immobilization systems, electrode composition, and other technologies in order to further enhance power output and durability. The company aims to create an effective energy source that will be suitable for practical applications.
Sweet!
And as for sugar being the new oil, consider this: sugar is a renewable resource. And sugarcane-based ethanol is what has allowed Brazil to become self-sufficient in terms of vehicle fuel.
