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bacon rashers
Bacon rashers. Photograph: Alamy
Bacon rashers. Photograph: Alamy

Unusual renewables: bacon-powered motorbikes and cars run on chocolate

This article is more than 9 years old

From batteries powered by sweat to a 3D printed wind turbine - some wacky and wonderful innovations in renewable energy

According to the food company, Hormel, it takes one pound of bacon grease to produce one gallon of fuel (4.5 litres), which can cover between 75 and 100 miles on a motorbike. The Minnesota-based business has recently collaborated with a biodiesel firm to build the world’s first motorbike fuelled by pig grease, Driven by Bacon. Its creators say that it’s environmentally conscious and has the added bonus of emitting bacon-scented fumes.

Using animal grease and fat as fuel isn’t anything new, but Driven by Bacon – conceived as part of an advertising campaign – is just one quirky example of how designers and entrepreneurs are finding new ways to meet future energy demands with technology that is disruptive, modular and eco-friendly.

Energy from chocolate waste


Like animal fat and grease, food waste can also be turned into fuel. A few years ago, researchers at the University of Warwick launched a Formula 3 car that ran on chocolate.

Scientists have previously produced hydrogen by feeding sugar-munching bacteria nougat and caramel waste provided by a Cadbury’s factory. Fed into a fuel cell, the hydrogen reacted with oxygen and generated clean electricity, which was used to power a fan. Lynne Macaskie, a bioscientist from the University of Birmingham, led the research and observed that the technology could be scaled up for industrial electricity and waste treatment purposes. This would save manufacturers costs by reducing the amount of waste that needs processing.

cadbury's
Hydrogen was produced from nougat and caramel waste from a Cadbury’s factory. Photograph: David Levene

Batteries operated by sweat

The vision of using bodily fluids to power our future is not new, but it is curious. Some have used glucose and oxygen found in bodily fluids to power implanted biofuel cells, while others have used the salts in urine to power batteries.

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego have developed temporary tattoos that can power electronic devices by generating and storing energy from sweat. The tattoo contains small sensors (biobatteries) that strip electrons from lactate – which is naturally present in sweat – and generates an electric current (around 4 watts, but there are plans to improve it). The challenge is keeping the biobattery charged. Also research showed that a fit person would have to have to exercise harder to keep the battery charged as it takes them longer to work up a sweat.

The hope is that wearable technology could have a significant impact on biomedical and military research that involves intense exercise regimes. Aside from using people power as a renewable energy source, biobatteries are more efficient than conventional batteries: they don’t explode or leak chemicals. And temporary tattoos can be easily recharged or disposed of.

sweatbiobattery
Sweat biobattery. Photograph: University of California San Diego/ACS (American Chemical Society)

Floors powered by human movement

The human body contains a copious amount of energy, and harvesting it can be used to charge smartphone batteries and power lightbulbs. The process of converting movement into energy, known as piezoelectricity, is being picked up by companies such as Pavegen.

In Rotterdam, Energy Floors launched the world’s first energy-generating dance floor. The kinetic energy of dancing or walking is converted into electricity that powers the floor’s LED bulbs.

Energy Floors
Energy Floors. Photograph: Energy Floors

3D printed technology

3D printing may be all the rage in the food industry, but it could also be used to produce modular renewable energy technology that can be put together like Lego bricks.

The Poland-based printer manufacturer, Omni3D, has developed a 3D printed wind turbine that is foldable and can fit in a rucksack. It can generate 300 watts of clean energy – enough to charge mobile phones and lightbulbs and power small appliances. It has a modular design meaning it can be assembled anywhere without tools or a manual.

“The turbine can be easily disassembled so you may take it with you wherever you want. You might take it camping and you don’t need gas-powered generators,” says Konrad Sierzputowski, one of Omni3D’s co-founders. Sierzputowski and his team also say that such technology could have a big influence on off-grid communities in developing countries. They are currently raising funding through KickStarter in the hope of making the product scalable.

Battery-less lamps

In developing countries, kerosene lamps are a hazard and fuels are not always affordable, but battery-less lights can prove to be more efficient than solar. The GravityLight device is powered by gravity and a weight, like a bag of sand. The weight is hung from a chord below the light, and as the weight descends a mechanism inside the device translates the weight into energy. Unlike other battery-free lights, such as wind-up ones, the GravityLight requires less effort, because if the light goes out it can be turned on by hanging the bag again – three seconds of lifting a 9kg bag provides 25 minutes of light.

The designers behind the product say that it’s a game-changer for off-grid communities. The device could also provide emergency lighting during disaster relief operations. It’s expected to be available commercially in 2015.

GravityLight
GravityLight. Photograph: Gravity Light.

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