Sony achieves world's highest output from sugar battery

Another day, another fuel cell milestone. This time, it's sugar at the bio-electrical base. Unfortunately, the world's highest output they're touting is just 50mW per cell. Still, if you daisy chain a few together then you've got enough juice (literally) to power a modern Walkman albeit, from a battery roughly 10x the size of the player. Be sure to check their video after the break -- produced with just enough hair-porn-era synth music to make the otherwise benign experience, painful.

[Via TokyoMango]

[MIke10010100 @ Aug 23rd 2007 6:26AM]

Sure it may be unweildly, but its the principle of the thing. This is the first time we could get sizable electrical energy by directly utilizing the power of glucose, just like we do ourselves!

My only question, will this lead to hyper-gadgets?

[slug @ Aug 23rd 2007 6:47AM]

sugar powered batterys? so in 10 years time i could be chargin my phone by filling it with haribo?! haha :p

[Robotochan @ Aug 23rd 2007 7:14AM]

I still don't understand why companies keep pushing Bio-Fuels. Whether they be batteries or diesel there is not enough agricultural land to produce enough food and fuel at the same time. If all the money spent on research such as this was poured into Solar I'm pretty sure it'd be far more worthwhile than a 50mw sugar battery :/

[Andir3.0 @ Aug 23rd 2007 10:03AM]

Unless it's night time.

[Robotochan @ Aug 23rd 2007 10:15AM]

Solar Panels charge things, so obviously once the ultra capacitors have been perfected it would be an ideal system.

[Kooty @ Aug 23rd 2007 7:41AM]

I am fluent in Japanese, and watched the video. In the second scene where they power the fan, they use a store-bought "sports energy drink" (probably either Pokari Sweat, or Aquarius by the looks of it - I lived in Japan for 8 years, and still go there every other month).

That's pretty cool considering one day you might be able to go to the store and buy a $1.20 drink and fill up your MP3. My only question is how long one 'charge' of sugar lasts. I mean it won't be really useful if you can only run your MP3/PMP/Mobile for 30 minutes on one charge.

[Chicksta @ Aug 23rd 2007 7:52AM]

"Sony's achieves"??? Sorry to go all grammar police, but that is making my eyes bleed.

[Chicksta @ Aug 23rd 2007 10:18AM]

Thank you!

[Joel @ Aug 23rd 2007 8:29AM]

SWEET!

[CB @ Aug 23rd 2007 8:48AM]

I guess the resason we think this is cool is because sugar is avaliable easily in shops, when we say 'easily' that's because people go to great lengths to grow it in hot countries and transport it refined to your local shop.
If they went to the same lengths to get the ingredients from a standard duracell into your shop we could wonder at refillable 'alkaline' powered batteries.

[Andir3.0 @ Aug 23rd 2007 10:09AM]

"alkaline batteries are prone to leaking potassium hydroxide, a caustic agent that can cause respiratory, eye and skin irritation"

Maybe that's the reason...

Researching non toxic batteries isn't a bad thing.

[Kamokazi @ Aug 23rd 2007 9:13AM]

Hmm...I wonder how Sony will manage to get the sugar to explode...

[Andir3.0 @ Aug 23rd 2007 10:06AM]

You laugh at it, but I don't see news from other companies trying to get away from Lithium Ion batteries... Sony is doing research on something new/better(?) and you still mock them.

[Jagannath A @ Aug 23rd 2007 11:00AM]

@Kamokazi

instead of exploding violently this will explode into a sugar candy :P

[Kamokazi @ Aug 23rd 2007 11:51PM]

@Andir

I think your I

[ethana2 @ Aug 23rd 2007 9:39AM]

So now I can use my bloodstream as liquid cooling _and_ power for my laptop. Sweet.

Gets a little tedious keeping the blood port sterile, clot free, and all that though. Not recommended for the sane, or small children.

Gotta say though, blending will be some of the easiest exercise you'll be able to do.

[Adam Huzzey @ Aug 23rd 2007 11:31AM]

This is garbage, so much money went into it for R&P that if it ever became viable it would find itself on the sheleves next to crank powered laptops, and I shudder to think it, electric cars. I am with Ethana2 on this one, perhaps we can even go urine powered. "Hold on a second my IPOD just stopped, let me pee into the battery real quick."

[ethana2 @ Aug 23rd 2007 12:07PM]

If you have that much sugar in your urine, you have problems. I said blood :)

[ethana2 @ Aug 23rd 2007 12:10PM]

Oh, wait- gotcha "perhaps we can even"... sorry about that. I think if you had a device that used that little power, you could use a small solar panel and a Ni-MH watch battery..

[ethana2 @ Aug 23rd 2007 12:13PM]

(I want a crank powered laptop, by the way.)

[Adam Huzzey @ Aug 23rd 2007 12:19PM]

I know ya said blood, i was just taking it further to prove the point of hor rediculous powering electronics with sugar water is. Sorry for the confusion.

[Bill @ Aug 23rd 2007 12:27PM]

It sure would be easier to get our hands on sugar water versus pure methanol.

I still want my 1 month laptop fuel cell.

[Bahadir Yavuz @ Aug 23rd 2007 2:55PM]

I think they can substantially reduce the battery size by switching to saccharine which is 100x more sweet.

[SteveMB @ Aug 23rd 2007 10:36PM]

So if we actually will be using this, we'll run out of sugar in a few years and prices will go up! Probably more expensive than gas.

[don @ Nov 20th 2007 11:59AM]

Aren't nay sayers wonderfull. Always remember requiring perfection is the enemy of both a good idea and progress.

I swear if someone invented being able to live in great health for 200 years their would be a 100 objectors.