Nanoelectrode System Developed to Extract Electricity from Algae

A research team led by Professor Won-Hyoung Ryu has created a technology to extract photosynthetic electrons from algae

Yonsei Mechanical Engineering Professor Won-Hyoung Ryu’s research team has created a technology to extract photosynthetic electrons from algae.

Their method involves inserting a patterned nanowire or nanoelectrode into live algal cells, enabling the potential harvesting of electricity from multiple cells simultaneously. The team reported on this new energy conversion technology in the September 14, 2016 issue of Advanced Functional Materials, an important journal in the field of materials engineering.

Of the research, Professor Ryu said: “The system we developed this time is a new concept of bio-solar energy conversion technology that uses algal cells, which have recently come to the fore as an environmental issue. This technology’s development is the product of a study that showed the possibility of the practical use of photosynthetic currents, and it further shows the possible development of bio-solar energy hybrid energy conversion technology.”

Updated in Feb 2017

Reference
Kim, L. H., Kim, Y. J., Hong, H., Yang, D., Han, M., Yoo, G., Song, H. W., Chae, Y., Pyun, J.-C., Grossman, A. R., Ryu, W., “Patterned Nanowire Electrode Array for Direct Extraction of Photosynthetic Electrons from Multiple Living Algal Cells” Advanced Functional Materials, doi: 10.1002/adfm.201602171