Researchers in Canada have developed an innovative solar cell which uses bacteria to convert light into energy. The new technology is based on a bacterium called Rhodobacter pylori. By coating the bacteria with a semiconducting substance and incorporating it into a battery cell, they were able to achieve a current density of 0.686 milliamps per square centimetre, which they say is the highest yet achieved by a biogenic solar cell.
Researchers in Canada have developed an innovative solar cell which uses bacteria to convert light into energy. The team at the University of British Columbia developed a way of genetically engineering E.coli to produce large amounts of lycopene, a natural dye which bacteria use for photosynthesis. By coating the bacteria with a semiconducting substance and incorporating it into a battery cell, they were able to achieve a current density of 0.686 milliamps per square centimetre, which they say is the highest yet achieved by a biogenic solar cell.