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Post tags: hong liu, microbial electrochemical cells, microbial fuel cells, nanotechnology, oregon state university, sewage, wastewater, wastewater treatment

Mexican artist Gilberto Esparza has unleashed a legion of solar-powered “Nomad Plants” that mosey along riverbanks in search of resources to sustain themselves. Each one utilizes a microbial fuel cell to convert contaminants in polluted rivers into energy, and then they use that energy in turn to clean more water. What does it mean?, you may be asking. In his artist statement, Esparza calls Nomad Plants a “metaphor for the alienated human condition and the impact that our activity has on nature.”

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Post tags: cyborg, environmental art, gilberto esparza, green design, green robot, microbial fuel cells, nomad plant, sustainable design, water issues

Part coffee table and part planter, this awesome Volt Pot puts the environment to work indoors by harnessing the power of dirt to charge your gadgets! The fresh green planter pot has a built-in Microbial Fuel Cell that is capable of generating enough energy to charge small electronics, giving users an additional reason to bring the outdoors in.

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Post tags: Charging Station, green design, MFC', microbial fuel cells, Nectar Designs, sustainable design, Sustainable Interiors, VoltPot

Harvard scientists believe in the power of the good earth — literally. A team at the Boston-based college have created microbial fuel cell (MFC) batteries that derive energy from naturally occurring bacteria in soil. If the product takes off, the eco-friendly batteries could provide power for some of the 500 million people in sub-Saharan Africa who lack access to electricity.

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Post tags: bacteria-powered batteries, Breakthrough Awards, green tech in Africa, green tech in developing nations, lebônê, microbial fuel cells, popular mechanics

Take a little bit of soil, add some microbes, a little bit of human ingenuity and you’ll find yourself with the most unlikely source of power ever – dirt! Building off of this simple concept, a team from Harvard led by Hugo Van Vuuren have just been named amongst the winners of the World Bank’s Lighting Africa 2008 Development Competition. Their idea is to develop a series of dirt based fuel cells that are capable of lighting high efficiency LED lamps and their goal is to light up Africa.

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Post tags: Alexander Fabry, Aviva Presser, David Sengeh, dirt power, electricity from dirt, electricity from soil, green power, lebônê, lighting africa, microbial fuel cells, Sephen Lwendo, soil power, Zoë Sachs-Arellano