Scotland’s seaweed could play a vital role in improving the lifespan of batteries and powering the likes of electric vehicles.

The University of Glasgow researchers have begun testing first-of-their-kind prototype batteries which use a naturally-occurring material found in brown seaweed.

Alongside a team from Ayr-based Marine Biopolymers, it is hoped tailored alginates found in the seaweed could help develop batteries using silicon rather than graphite.

Graphite or carbon electrodes, a core component of standard lithium-ion batteries, can only store a limited amount of charge which restricts its overall lifespan.

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The Herald:

Silicon has previously been suggested as a viable alternative material with the ability to lead to a ten-fold boost in the charging ability, but when used on its own it expands and contracts when the battery is cycled.

This means it ends up cracking over time, but seaweed-derived alginate could improve elasticity as well as the ability to store energy.

“Battery technology is going to play a hugely important role in our transition away from fossil fuels,” said professor Duncan Gregory, chair in Inorganic Materials at the university’s School of Chemistry.

“Electric vehicles, renewable energy production, national grids and other critical elements of a net zero future will depend on having batteries that can store large amounts of energy in the smallest volumes possible and with extended lifetimes.

“As well as this, we need to find more sustainable production methods and ways to use naturally occurring materials as part of battery manufacturing.

“This project has been in the works for some time now and it is great to see initial positive results, combining the expertise from two key fields.”

The team behind the project was recently given a boost after being awarded funding from the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC).

The Herald recently reported a call for Scotland to develop seaweed farming and utilise the “untapped resource” by United Nations advisor Vincent Doumeizel.

He told how the marine algae could be used from creating biodegradable bioplastic to “solving the problem of world hunger”.

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And researchers have also already found success with seaweed-derived material in batteries.

So far, the team has managed to create a prototype the size of a watch battery with “very encouraging results”.

They have now turned their efforts towards developing a larger-scale battery in the hopes of proving that seaweed alginates can be used to significantly boost charging capacity for a range of products – such as electric vehicles.

It is hoped that their first-of-its-kind battery could be brought to market in the near future, the product development manager at Marine Biopolymers Limited, Kirsty Neilson, explained.

The company specialises in extracting natural polymers from seaweed a range of different applications from food to pharmaceuticals.

Ms Neilson said: “This an exciting first venture into energy storage and we are hoping to be in a position to take a commercial solution to the market in the next three to five years.

“The new technology could underpin an entirely new supply chain and manufacturing market here in Scotland and we have already had encouraging conversations with potential partners.

“It would be great to see seaweed species indigenous to Scottish coastal waters being used to power everyday electronics and technology in the future.”

Scotland has a long history of harvesting wild seaweeds for various uses including animal feed, agricultural fertilisers, and alginates, however, it is thought it could go even further.

It is estimated that the sector could grow to generate revenues of £71.2 million per year by 2040, a 2022 report by IBioIC and the Scottish Association for Marine Science revealed.

“Electric vehicles powered in part by a seaweed-based product sounds like something from science fiction, but research and technology continue to push the boundaries and show us what’s possible,” said IBioIC director of business engagement Liz Fletcher.

She added: “Seaweed is a valuable raw material with many potential use cases and by supporting companies like Marine Biopolymers with funding, expertise and access to facilities, we can support the development of exciting new bio-based supply chains in Scotland.”