Abstract
Fuel cells offer an alternative to fossil fuels for electricity generation. However, the need to use rare, and all too easily contaminated, metals to catalyze the reactions that convert chemical energy into electrical energy remains an obstacle to large-scale development. So why not look to nature for cheaper, more sustainable solutions? Within micro-organisms, enzymes have been identified that are excellent biocatalysts for transforming a wide range of substrates into fuels and combustibles. A fuel biopile is thus defined, where these enzymes advantageously replace the platinum-based catalyst at the anode and cathode. The first enzymatic biopiles were based on enzymes specific to the degradation and transformation of substrates present in physiological fluids, glucose and oxygen in particular. Applications were aimed at powering implanted medical devices. Today, this type of biopile is so mature that clinical trials are in lecture.
