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ESPA researchers, Swiss federal laboratories for material science and technology, explore the potential of fungal mycelium to create a compact and biodegradable battery.
Their objective is to use mycelium to produce “fungal paper” for battery electrodes – a concept which, according to researcher Ashutosh Sinha, remains in the experimental phase.
“We want to produce a compact and biodegradable battery whose electrodes are made up of a living” fungal paper “, says Sinha, stressing that this vision is always a dream for the moment.
The dream of biodegradable batteries
The idea of a biodegradable battery made from life materials is ambitious. The team works with the mycelium of the split fungus, a fungus known for its unique mechanical and biological properties.
This fungus is naturally biodegradable and, when combined with its extracellular matrix, produces a material with a promising potential of lasting applications in technology.
The objective is to develop a system that breaks down without freeing harmful waste – unlike conventional electronic devices – using the natural properties of the material.
ESC researchers now examine how mycelium tensile resistance and its humidity sensitivity can be applied to components such as biodegradable sensors and batteries.
Working with living materials brings notable challenges. The biodegradable nature of Mycelium is both an advantage and a limitation.
On the one hand, this could considerably reduce the environmental impact of batteries. On the other, its tendency to degrade raises concerns concerning its longevity and reliability in electronic devices.
Living materials also respond to their environment, which makes it difficult to forecast or control their behavior in a coherent manner.
“Biodegradable materials always react to their environment. We want to find applications where this interaction is not an obstacle, but perhaps even an advantage,” said Gustav Nyström of Empa.
The idea of a compact and biodegradable battery with fungal paper electrodes remains conceptual, and one of the biggest challenges will be to refine the material to meet the performance standards required in modern electronics.
Nevertheless, it represents a promising step towards more sustainable electronics and concerned about the environment.
