In the search for a better battery, the Sony Corporation has come up with a startling innovation: a battery that runs the way the human metabolism does, by turning sugar into energy. This biotech battery so far converts enough glucose energy into electricity to power small devices. The company presented a research paper on the new technology at the recent 234th American Chemical Society National Meeting & Exposition in Boston.

 

According to Sony, the new biotech battery is the most powerful of its type with a 50 milliwatt output during tests. At that level, connecting four of the prototype cells like in the photo above will provide enough power for the playback feature on a memory-type Walkman. The battery casing consists of a vegetable-based plastic.

 

The bio battery is passive, meaning the glucose that provides power diffuses naturally into electrodes rather than being actively forced in. In plain English, that means the battery is of simple construction and therefore easier to miniaturize than the more complex active-type batteries. This construction makes the bio batteries best for small devices like MP3 players.

 

Sony’s press release states the corporation will continue to work on the unit’s power output and durability to increase practicality.