Power Systems

Fuel CellToday’s fuel cells and batteries provide limited run time for advanced portable electronic applications and use toxic and/or precious metals to store or produce energy.  For decades scientists have recognized that biofuel cells, which use natural and renewable enzymes as catalysts, have the potential to provide more energy than conventional batteries or fuel cells in an environmentally friendly package.  Akermin’s stabilized enzyme technology is doing something no biocatalyst breakthrough has ever done – make biofuel cells a viable alternative to traditional, expensive fuel cells and batteries.

Akermin’s Stabilized Enzyme Biofuel Cell (SEBC™) technology immobilizes and stabilizes enzymes in a conductive polymer matrix and allows them to convert renewable organic fuels into electricity, a process which is inherently more efficient than conventional methods of portable power generation.  The stability afforded by Akermin’s enzyme immobilization polymers, measured in years compared to days for other biofuel cell technology, enables the first truly commercial viability for this type of power supply.  Using high energy content fuels such as glycerol, ethanol, or glucose, Akermin’s Stabilized Enzyme Biofuel Cells (SEBC™) are more environmentally-friendly and last longer than any existing fuel cell, delivering lower cost per Watt hour over their lifetime.

Akermin has developed several “world-first” prototypes in low power ranges and has secured contracts with corporate and government entities to develop power supplies using the SEBC™ for commercial and other uses.  Akermin’s biofuel cell technology, using a biocathode and several proprietary engineering techniques, overcomes many of the traditional limitations of conventional fuel cells including fuel crossover, complex water recirculation, and required use of expensive proton exchange membranes.

Putting enzymes to work on low power, long lasting biofuel cells for electronic devices in such sectors as:

  • Defense and security systems
  • Wireless sensors
  • LED Safety Lighting
  • Thin Film Biobatteries

 

References
1. C.M. Moore, N.L. Akers, A.D. Hill, Z.C. Johnson, S.M. Minteer.  Improving the Environment for Immobilized Dehydrogenase Enzymes by Modifying Nafion with Tetraalkylammonium Bromides, Biomacromolecules, 2004, 5, 1241-1247.

2. N.L. Akers, C.M. Moore, and S.D. Minteer, "Development of Alcohol/O2 Biofuel Cells Using Salt-Extracted Tetrabutylammonium Bromide/Nafion Membranes to Immobilize Dehydrogenase Enzymes," Electrochimica Acta, 50, 2005, 2521-2525.

3. M. Schrenk, R. Villigram, N. Torrence, S. Brancato, and S.D. Minteer, "Effects of Mixture Casting Nafion with Quaternary Ammonium Bromide Salts on the Ion Exchange Capacity and Mass Transport in the Films," Journal of Membrane Science, 205, 2002, 3-10.