Intestine-inspired bacterial biobattery creates 8 times the power
By
Etiido UkoOctober 31, 2026
Intestine-inspired bacterial biobattery creates 8 times the power
A rendering of villi in the intestinal walls – the inspiration for the biobattery
Depositphotos
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An illustration showing how the biobatteries could be installed in wastewater pipes to produce electricity
Ruohan Zhang, Botian Wang, Seokheun Choi, "Intestinal Villi-Inspired Living Biobatteries via Habitat-Engineered Conductive Hydrogel Architectures"
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The researchers manufactured various sizes of villi-inspired biobatteries to see which ones provided optimum electric output
Ruohan Zhang, Botian Wang, Seokheun Choi, "Intestinal Villi-Inspired Living Biobatteries via Habitat-Engineered Conductive Hydrogel Architectures"
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A rendering of villi in the intestinal walls – the inspiration for the biobattery
Depositphotos
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A rendering of a refined version of the villi-inspired biobattery
Ruohan Zhang, Botian Wang, Seokheun Choi, "Intestinal Villi-Inspired Living Biobatteries via Habitat-Engineered Conductive Hydrogel Architectures"
View gallery - 4 imagesThe small intestine has several functions, including chemical digestion, nutrient and water absorption, hormone secretion, immune defense, and now, apparently, inspiring better battery designs.
Inspired by the finger-like projections called villi that line the small intestine's walls, researchers at Binghamton University have developed a new type of bacteria-powered biobattery that generates over eight times more electricity per unit volume than a comparable flat design. The researchers copied the shape, material, and behavior of villi to create a more suitable environment for the microorganisms that generate electricity.
In this case, the biobatteries are a type of microbial fuel cell (MFC) that uses living microorganisms to convert the chemical energy stored in organic matter into electricity.
Certain bacteria naturally break down organic compounds during metabolism, releasing electrons in the process. In a microbial fuel cell, an anode collects these electrons, which then travel through an external circuit to the cathode, generating an electric current. Meanwhile, electrically charged ions move through an electrolyte – typically a liquid containing dissolved salts and other ions – to help complete the electrochemical reactions. As long as the bacteria remain active and have a suitable nutrient supply, the system can continue producing electricity.
Researchers have explored MFCs in wastewater treatment, environmental monitoring, and powering small electronic devices. Some experimental systems have even used bacteria feeding on urine to power LED lighting. However, microbial fuel cells remain largely confined to research, pilot installations, and specialized applications, partly because of their relatively low electrical output. One of the challenges is designing electrodes that provide enough space for bacteria to grow while allowing nutrients to reach them and metabolic waste to escape.
Conventional flat electrodes offer limited surface area for bacteria to colonize, which restricts how much electricity they can generate. Researchers have tried overcoming this with porous materials, including paper, fabrics, and specially engineered polymers, whose interconnected pores provide additional surfaces for bacteria to settle. However, as the microorganisms multiply, they form sticky communities called biofilms that can gradually clog these pores. This restricts nutrient delivery, traps metabolic waste, and can result in uneven bacterial growth, ultimately affecting electricity generation.
“Porous structures can be easily clogged by biofilm formation, so we had a lot of problems with nutrient delivery, waste buildup, or uneven biofilm growth,” says Prof. Seokheun Choi, head of Binghamton University's Bioelectronics and Microsystems Lab. “What we need is a bioelectrode that mimics living tissue, so that we provide a large surface area and short diffusion distance, efficient mass transport, and at the same time mechanically flexible, stretchable, and scalable.”
The researchers found a possible solution in the human small intestine.
The intestine is lined with millions of tiny, finger-like projections called villi, which dramatically increase the surface area available for nutrient absorption. Their protruding structure also allows nutrients to move around them, while the surrounding hydrated environment supports biological activity. The researchers figured that recreating some of these features in a microbial fuel cell could provide more room for electricity-producing bacteria without sacrificing the movement of nutrients and waste.
To test the idea, the team developed flexible, electrically conductive, hydrogel-covered, finger-like pillars resembling intestinal villi. The hydrogel combines polyvinyl alcohol with a conductive polymer called PEDOT and reduced graphene oxide, producing a soft, water-retaining material capable of conducting electricity. They then embedded dormantBacillus subtilisspores, a bacterium capable of transferring electrons outside its cells, throughout the artificial villi. When exposed to a suitable nutrient solution, the spores germinate into metabolically active bacteria and begin producing electricity.
The researchers then incorporated the artificial villi into a complete microbial fuel cell, using the bacteria-filled hydrogel as the anode. They installed a modified carbon-cloth cathode, separated from the anode by an ion-exchange membrane that allows ionic transport while keeping the electrode environments apart. The nutrient-containing liquid also serves as the electrolyte, supplying the bacteria with food while enabling ions to move through the system.
To determine the most effective design, the team manufactured and tested 24 configurations with different pillar heights and radii, examining how their dimensions influenced electricity generation. They also developed flexible patches containing multiple villi and tested them in a simulated wastewater-pipe environment.
The results, published in the journalSmall, showed that the villi-inspired design achieved a volumetric power density of 66.45 microwatts per cubic centimeter (µW/cm³), compared with just 8.04 µW/cm³ for a conventional flat electrode under volume-matched conditions. That's an 8.3-fold improvement, specifically over the researchers' flat design rather than every existing microbial fuel cell. The best-performing individual finger generated a peak output of 8.35 microwatts, while the device maintained approximately 0.75 volts for at least 14 hours under continuous nutrient supply.
A quick reality check: a microwatt is one-millionth of a watt, so even the improved design is nowhere near powerful enough for conventional consumer electronics.
That said, one particularly promising application is self-powered environmental monitoring, especially inside wastewater pipelines. Sewage contains organic matter that bacteria can metabolize, potentially allowing sensors installed inside pipes to obtain electricity from the wastewater flowing past them. The flexible hydrogel patches could conform to the curved walls of these pipes and provide small amounts of power for monitoring environmental conditions. The researchers demonstrated the concept using a wastewater-mimicking nutrient solution in a simulated pipe.
There is also the possibility of scaling up the technology by manufacturing larger patches or connecting multiple biobatteries, but that introduces its own challenges. Increasing a microbial fuel cell's size doesn't necessarily increase electricity output proportionally, as nutrient distribution, internal resistance, and other factors can affect performance. The researchers are now working toward a scalable, single-step printing process and hope to improve how closely their artificial villi reproduce the intestine's physiological and chemical environment.
Source:Binghamton University
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EnergyBinghamton UniversityMicrobial Fuel CellsGut BacteriaNo commentsNo commentsEtiido UkoEtiido is a mechanical engineer and senior technical writer with over eight years of experience in documentation and reporting. He is deeply passionate about all things engineering and technology, and is an expert in manufacturing, robotics, fluid control, material science, and aerospace. His work spans content creation for industry leaders across multiple sectors, including Autodesk, Siemens, Xometry, Telus, and Coca-Cola. When he is not writing or keeping up with the latest innovations, you can find him exploring lands unknown.
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