A high-energy-density sugar biobattery based on a synthetic enzymatic pathway

Biotech that could change the real technology scene:

High-energy-density, green, safe batteries are highly desirable for meeting the rapidly growing needs of portable electronics. The incomplete oxidation of sugars mediated by one or a few enzymes in enzymatic fuel cells suffers from low energy densities and slow reaction rates. Here we show that nearly 24 electrons per glucose unit of maltodextrin can be produced through a synthetic catabolic pathway that comprises 13 enzymes in an air-breathing enzymatic fuel cell. This enzymatic fuel cell is based on non-immobilized enzymes that exhibit a maximum power output of 0.8 mW cm−2 and a maximum current density of 6 mA cm−2, which are far higher than the values for systems based on immobilized enzymes. Enzymatic fuel cells containing a 15% (wt/v) maltodextrin solution have an energy-storage density of 596 Ah kg−1, which is one order of magnitude higher than that of lithium-ion batteries. Sugar-powered biobatteries could serve as next-generation green power sources, particularly for portable electronics.

More @A high-energy-density sugar biobattery based on a synthetic enzymatic pathway : Nature Communications : Nature Publishing Group:

Special Interests Outvote Science: Political Stalemate over EU Biofuel Policy Continues

QUOTE from IFPRI portal:

The “food vs. fuel” debate came no closer to a resolution last week, as Energy ministers from the European Union’s 28 member states failed to agree on a compromise limiting the use of transport fuels made from food crops such as rapeseed and wheat, so-called first generation biofuels.

The EU’s current policy requires 10 percent of transport fuels to come from renewable sources by 2020; with current technologies and the low prevalence of electric cars, this amount would be almost entirely derived from liquid biofuels, mainly based on food crops. This mandate has come under fire for putting energy needs before food security, diverting necessary food crops away from hungry mouths and into gas tanks...

In July 2013, the European Parliament’s Environmental (ENVI) Committee followed the EC’s lead and voted to cap the transportation industry’s use of first-generation biofuels at 5.5 percent (a slight modification to the 5 percent proposed by the Commission) and require reporting of any indirect land use changes (ILUC) caused by biofuel production. When forests and other pristine lands are cleared for new farmland to expand biofuel production, the carbon stored in their soil and accumulated biomass is released, resulting in a net increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These ILUC effects could lower biofuels' environmental benefits... More @ Political Stalemate over EU Biofuel Policy Continues | Food Security Portal: