Bill Gates Foundation Funding Urine Battery Research

Next time your phone needs charging, spare a thought for the fact that not every part of the world is equipped with a USB socket, wall charger or similar device. The Bill Gates Foundation is now funding the research by Bristol Robotic Laboratory who have discovered a new power source, pee.

The pee powered batteries use a microbial fuel cell, in which micro-organisms take the urine, and break it down into an electrical output. It passes through several tubed that break down the urine to create electricity and the end product is actually a cleaner waste which is easier to dispose of. The cells are powerful enough to charge a smartphone or similar device.

There are short sides to the technology, one being that you need to pour pee into the battery, not exactly the sort of thing that would go down well at your local bus stop, office work place or supermarket for example, especially since it’s not the most compact of devices. Yet in parts of the world where power isn’t abundant, these special batteries could be a truly ground breaking invention and one that finds a carbon friendly solution to something that would otherwise just be a waste product.

Thank you Pocket Lint for providing us with this information.

Image courtesy of Pocket Lint.