Remember the photosynthesis equation you had to learn at school? Well French scientists have developed the electric cactus by harnessing the products of the photosynthesis process (sugar and oxygen) and creating a biofuel cell that generates electricity.
So far it's lit up a desk lamp and has produced 9 watts per square centimetre. It could revolutionise the way solar power can be converted into an electrical power output using plant power and even aid the measurement of glucose in diabetics.
Victoria Flexer and Nicolas Mano, who have carried out the research, explained, "with our electrodes we could harvest glucose and O2 produced during photosynthesis to produce energy, transforming sunlight into electricity in a simple, green, renewable, and sustainable way."
This could turn out to be very prickly research in the making!
[Spotted on Greenbang]
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