biomimetic membranes that produce biologically-inspired energy – bioWATTS

This project investigates the production of “green” energy by taking a biological approach inspired by cell membranes. We have recently demonstrated that those biomimetic principles of membrane ion transport generated an electrical potential in an artificial cell. We used that know-how and biomimetic technology to generate electrical power in a conventional 2-chamber diffusion device (BBFC). We now aim to: (1) to develop and test new stable and cost-effective porous functional materials with specialised surface chemistries capable of interacting with specialised biomimetic membranes for the BBFC (WP01), (2) to develop and demonstrate scalable cost-effective production and purification methods for membrane transport proteins that provide the ion- and water-transport capability for biomimetic membranes (WP01), (3) to identify and demonstrate an efficient scalable incorporation route for reconstituting the transport proteins into a stable biomimetic membrane (WP01), (4) to design and construct a prototype “bio-W-cube” device that combines multiple BBFC units (in-series and in-parallel) to produce large amounts of power. This prototype will provide the basis for both implantable biofuel cells and external biofuel cells for nomadic electronics or home/office applications (WP02), (5) to develop robust functional materials for enclosures for BBFCs, and demonstrate sufficient biocompatibility so that they eventually can be implanted/ into human or animal hosts (WP03). By exploiting salt as the fuel, this project is positioned to address the medical device market with a paradigm-shifting power supply. On a broader scale for the production of “green” energy, the societal impact would also include offering increased local control of energy production, because the bioWATTS production processes are biologically-inspired self-assembly and hence do not require large-scale and centralised factory-type facilities. The project will develop a prototype device ‘”bio-W-cube”) to assess the feasibility of such a local production of energy