Bioo - the startup that's merging nature and technology

by Startacus Admin

 

The innovative Spanish startup on a mission to help us have a greener future by disrupting how we can source electricity from nature...

It’s no secret that we are in need of a sustainable source of energy that doesn’t contribute to the destruction of the planet. We have wind farms, solar farms, hydroelectric whatsits, and a drive to improve on these and the batteries that store the power they create. We also have a growing population and more and more need for power - be it streaming your Playstation 5 to your Playstation 4 on your 4K TV, putting the heating on for longer as the weather gets worse, or simply a growing population switching on their lights. 

The current methods of renewable, non-impactful energy production are not sufficient and often themselves aren’t the greenest - South Korea felling 2 million trees over the last few years for their solar farms, for example - and so we need to keep reiterating and improving.

Which is where Spanish startup Bioo comes in. Bioo understands that energy production is going on under our feet all the time - microorganisms feeding on organic matter in the earth. 

The process is pretty simple: the Bioo battery is an enclosed device buried underground, in which those microorganisms feed on organic matter, producing protons and electrons. The protons and electrons are collected by the cathode and anode, and we have a working battery. For now, this can be used to power lights and sensors to replace agricultural, chemical battery-powered sensors that collect data like soil pH and humidity, creating sustainability and reducing costs. If Bioo can scale this up, it could be used to power a household or lighting across entire public spaces. And, of course, unlike solar panels, these batteries can collect energy 24 hours a day.

Another, less vital but still interesting technology Bioo is working on is using plants as biological switches. When they come into contact with human touch, plants perceive a shift in frequency. By utilising this, Bioo can use a plant’s output like a switch, to turn on and off lights, create a musical note, or pretty much anything else switches can do.

Bioo and its founder, Pablo Vidarte, have won a multitude of awards and recognitions, including World’s Most Disruptive Startup of the Year, from Google, and one of the Top 50 Most Innovative Companies of Europe according to the European Parliament. From articles in NatGeo to being recognised as one of Spain’s most influential people, Vidarte has also been named as one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 (he is 24). 

We think we will see more Bioo in the near future.

 

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• #
• #spain
• #innovation
• #disruption
• #nature
• #agtech
• #energy tech

Published on: 23rd November 2020