Forget expensive electricity bills, you could soon charge your phone, tablet or other devices by simply plugging them into your household plants.

 

Engineers from Chile have developed a USB charger that harnesses energy from soil and converts it into power for mobile devices.

 

A single plant can charge a smartphone in around an hour and a half, or the biocircuit can power lamps and other devices.

 

Called E-Kaia, the prototype was built by Evelyn Aravena, Camila Rupcich and Carolina Guerrero.

 

The trio developed the technology in 2009 when they were students at Duoc UC in Valparaíso and the Andrés Bello National University.

 

A so-called biocircuit is buried in the soil, while a connected USB output sits above the plant pot.

 

During photosynthesis, a plant produces organic material that helps it to grow.

 

In particular it converts light energy to chemical energy.

 

Around the roots, naturally occurring micro-organisms break down these organic compounds to generate energy for this growth, but some electrons are released as a byproduct.

 

Sunlight enters the plant's chloroplasts and the water is split into oxygen, protons and electrons.

 

The biocircuit features an electrode that captures electrons and harvests them into a form of electricity.

 

And because not all of the electrons are needed, harvesting them doesn't impact the plant.

 

According to E-Kaia, the technology can output up to five volts at around 600 milliamps, and this can charge a phone in around an hour and a half.

 

The team has received financial backing from the Chilean Economic Development Agency (CORFO) and is hoping to sell it later this year.

 

A similar initiative has been developed at Wageningen University in The Netherlands called Plant-e. (Daily Mail)

 

 

PHOTO: The E-Kaia prototype (pictured) uses a biocircuit buried in the soil, while a connected USB output sits above the pot. The biocircuit uses an electrode to capture electrons produced during photosynthesis and harvest them into a form of electricity. The technology can charge a phone in around an hour and a half.