A team of researchers from the University of Cambridge U.K have created a computer system that is powered by algae that harvests energy from the sun. The module has the size of an AA battery and makes use of the microscopic organism Synechocystis which makes use of photosynthesis.

This system has been deemed useful for small devices in remote areas. However as the Internet of Things keeps growing this can be a potential replacement for batteries as the module now runs continuously for over a year. Christopher Howe said in a statement to Digitaltrends the following “Our photosynthetic device doesn’t run down the way a battery does because it is continuously uses light as the energy source.”

To test the functionality of the system the researchers hooked the device to an Arm Cortex M0+ microprocessor, this processor is a highly efficient processor and a good way to test a potential replacement of the AA battery as we know it.

The lead author said the following about the project
“We were impressed by how consistently the system worked over a long period of time — we thought it might stop after a few weeks but it just kept going,” said lead author Paolo Bombelli.

With this said we can only hope that this will work out and a replacement for the expensive lithium-ion batteries.