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Socks will turn urine into electricity
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
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Bioenergetics experts have proposed a very specific way to charge mobile devices, which requires only a pair of socks and... urine.
At a research centre in western England, a team of specialists have already begun experiments. They use a pair of socks, urine and small microbial fuel cells (MFCs) to generate electricity, and the first results are already starting to appear - an unusual system sends wireless signals to a desktop PC using a transmitter.
Fuel cells that operate on the basis of microorganisms capable of generating energy have become known relatively recently, and the scientific group headed by Ioannis Ieropoulos is not the first to conduct such research. Several years ago, Professor Ieropoulos' team charged a mobile phone using MFC and urine, however, at that time the experiments were carried out on a desktop, but now the scientists have stated that their innovation is the first "self-sufficient system" based on microbial fuel cell technologies as a power source.
The main part of the specific power supply system is the MFC, in which electricity is generated from various organic substances. Inside, the researchers placed a mixture of bacteria that can exist without oxygen; as soon as nutrition was supplied, the microorganisms began to generate electricity.
Ieropoulos' team worked on the technology for quite a long time - about 30 years, primarily with the goal of providing large amounts of energy. As a result, the scientists came to the conclusion that a practical level of power is achieved by connecting several small MFCs.
Using a regular pair of socks, bioenergetics scientists built soft MFCs into a specially designed bracelet that is worn on the feet, and a pump that works like the heart of primitive fish is built into the heel of the socks. As the scientists explained, such a structure is necessary to ensure the normal functioning of microbes.
The principle of operation of the specific power source is as follows: when urine moves through the microbial fuel cell, electricity is generated, in other words, when food (urine) is supplied, the microbes begin to reproduce energy. According to scientists, their system is capable of producing enough energy to send a signal after a short period of time to the receiving module, which is controlled by a computer. Incidentally, ordinary walking sets urine in motion.
According to the experts themselves, their work opens up new possibilities for using waste.
In this case, urine can be used to power mobile electronics. Professor Ieropoulos also noted that research in this area has shown that MFCs can well become the basis of a power supply system, in addition, such elements were used to create a system for transmitting human coordinates in emergency situations, and, as experiments have shown, the system turned out to be quite effective.
But in the case of the new development of the Ieropoulos group, the system will start working only after the fuel cell receives the necessary nutrition for the microbes, i.e. urine, which means that in order to recharge your gadget, you will need to pee in your socks.