A research team in China has created perhaps the most versatile energy-generating hydrovoltaic cell yet. Due to its novel construction in a hermetically sealed container, it can generate electricity for up to 160 hours with little water and no sunlight. That could make it a game-changing solution for water-poor areas or for energy generation in the dark.
Tech Xplore broke down the details of the Chinese Academy of Sciences engineers' findings, which were published in the journal Nature Communications.
Hydrovoltaic cells conventionally generate energy by channeling energy interactions between water and other surfaces that are instigated by sunlight, per Tech Xplore. They rely on a constant water source and specific conditions such as a dry environment. The researchers sought to develop a cell that could operate under challenging conditions that might occur in areas such as deserts or underground engineering sites, per Interesting Engineering.
Key to their approach was creating a nearly closed system by building the cell inside a hermetically sealed container. They dubbed the solution a hermetic hydrovoltaic cell (HHC). Using tissue paper and carbon black, they built a double-layer wicking agent for the HHC.
As Interesting Engineering explained, the components generate electricity with just a small amount of water circulating inside. Slight temperature changes occur via ambient heat and facilitate evaporation that creates usable energy. While the approach doesn't require sunlight, strong light was found to increase energy generation. That was attributed to a higher rate of absorption by the black carbon when exposed to more light.
The researchers' versatile solution is encouraging as the world searches for clean energy solutions. Dirty energy sources such as fossil fuels pollute the Earth and help warm the planet to record-setting levels. Dangerous consequences include increasingly devastating storms and a rise in extreme weather conditions such as droughts and floods.
Their efforts with hydrovoltaic cells join others. For example, a Swiss team created a system to purify water and create electricity at the same time. Another team in China developed a solution tapping into water-rich lotus leaves to overcome the hurdle of the cells needing to be near a constant source of water.
These approaches tap into ambient heat, which can be used to power other pieces of green tech such as heat pumps.
The Chinese Academy of Sciences engineers touted their method as having a low cost and requiring minimal water. They pointed out that since it relies on "inexhaustible" ambient heat, the cell could generate power indefinitely once a source is found. For the tech to really take off, though, Interesting Engineering asserted that more efficient designs will need to emerge.
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