Binghamton University researchers, with the help of their colleagues from State University of New York, have developed the first ever micro-scale self-sustaining microbial fuel cells powered by the symbiotic interactions of two types of bacteria.

Their work, described in a paper published in the Journal of Power Sources, is the next step in the field of microbial fuel cells.

“This concept of creating electricity through synergistic cooperation is not new. However, much of this work is still in its nascent stages,” said Seokheun Choi, an assistant professor of Electrical and Computer Science at Binghamton University and co-author of the study, in a press release. “The evolution of this technology will require additional exploration, but we, for the first time, realized this conceptual idea in a micro-scale device,”

For the new fuel cell, the researchers first place a mixed culture of phototrophic and heterotrophic bacteria in a cell chamber that is about 90 microliters, or one-fifth the size of a teaspoon. The phototrophic bacteria create its own food using sunlight, carbon dioxide and water, while the heterotrophic bacteria feed on organic materials, which are the phototrophic bacteria in this case.