Batteries are widely used in our daily lives. However, they represent a major source of pollution due to the heavy metals they contain such as zinc and lithium. Varieties such as ‘pill’ batteries – the smaller circular versions – can prove dangerous, even deadly, for children if ingested.
According to estimates by the Ministry of Health in France, 4500 calls related to pill battery poisoning were received by poison control centres between 1999 and 2018.
With this and the environmental aspect in mind, the French company BeFC has developed a fully biodegradable battery composed of carbon paper, enzymes, cellulose and sugar, reports RTBF.
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The BeFC battery is able to generate electricity in contact with water and other natural fluids and can power single-use devices such as pregnancy tests or diabetic patches with a power of 2.5 milliwatts per cm² for two months.
These fully biodegradable biocell batteries are also used on connected packages to feed patches of flexible digital sensors "capable of monitoring various parameters such as temperature, relative humidity, pH and movement," say the founders of BeFC on their website. Launched in 2020, the company already supplies a dozen customers in France and now aims to sell the batteries internationally.
