Tree-Power? Scientists Test Battery Made Of Wood

Beth Buczynski for Earthtechling Get ready to throw all of your assumptions about how to make a battery right out the window. Scientists at the University of Maryland are working on a powerful new battery that could help reduce hazardous waste usually associated with power storage. The main ingredient? Wood. A thousand times thinner than a piece of paper, the battery is made of a sliver of wood coated with tin. Researchers say the low cost of these relatively abundant materials would make the new battery ideal for storing huge amounts of energy at once – such as solar energy harvested at a power plant. Image via Nano Letters According to researchers Liangbing Hu, Teng Li and their team, the inspiration for the wood battery came from the trees themselves. “Wood fibers that make up a tree once held mineral-rich water, and so are ideal for storing liquid electrolytes, making them not only the base but an active part of the battery,” said Hu, an assistant professor of m…
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