Now, a solar cell with bacteria at its core

A team led by an IndoCanadian scientist is giving Escherichia or E coli bacteria, commonly associated with stomach ailments, an image makeover: placing them at the core of a new system for producing solar power.

Developed by the team of Vikramaditya Yadav at the chemical and biological engineering department of University of British Columbia, the biogenic solar cells, called so as they comprise living organisms, can function in low light conditions.

A prototype for the cells “generated a current stronger than any previously recorded from such a device, and worked as efficiently in dim light as in bright light, ” the University said in a statement. “We recorded the highest current density for a biogenic solar cell. These hybrid materials that we are developing can be manufactured economically and sustainably, and, with sufficient optimisation, could perform at comparable efficiencies as conventional solar cells,” Yadav said.