The natural environment has long inspired researchers, and a team from CSIC and BCMaterials has developed a flow battery that mirrors plant life to generate electricity. It follows the way fluids move inside plants to power energy production.
The FLOWER battery is eco-designed to align with the life cycle of modern precision farming. Its paper-based fluid system uses evaporation as the main driving force, pushing reactants through a pair of porous carbon electrodes where the electrochemical reaction occurs.
The design begins with two inlet channels that function like plant roots, supplying the device with dissolved redox species just as plants take up water and nutrients from their surroundings.
The central laminated paper core, resembling a plant stem, hosts two porous carbon electrodes connected by a U-shaped paper salt bridge, which forms a membraneless microfluidic galvanic cell.
The core ends with two outlet channels that transport the liquid toward the top of the device. A circular sheet-shaped absorbent pad exposed to the atmosphere continues to wick the solution away from the core through evaporation.
These developments come amid a push to deploy technological solutions that address the challenges of digitalized societies while ensuring a resilient food system. At the same time, waste electrical and electronic equipment has become the fastest growing waste stream globally, accumulating in landfills and posing risks to the environment and human health.
Solutions with no environmental impact
In this context, the FlowER battery aims to redefine technological priorities so that sustainability sits at the core. The project demonstrates that viable, efficient solutions can be created with a neutral or even positive environmental footprint.
The FlowER battery is specifically designed with eco-design principles to follow the life cycle of agricultural procedures. It mimics the plant-inspired fluid transport mechanisms to move reagents passively through a paper-based fluid network.
Pilot experiences include remote monitoring of soil moisture, highlighting practical field applications. The device operates on a factory-inspired principle that enables the creation of a flow-based energy-harvesting cell. The sweating phenomenon helps maintain laminar flow and cools reagents at the electrode surface. No external pump is required, and the typical time limits of capillary-based flow cells are overcome.
Researchers examined how evaporation affects flow and battery performance, noting a current configuration that provides up to four days of energy autonomy. In tests related to germination and aerobic biodegradation, the exhausted FlowER battery can be safely disposed of or composted as agricultural waste, returning to the earth much like a plant at the end of its life cycle.
Experts emphasize that precision agriculture, which manages fertilizers and water down to the millimeter, remains an essential goal. This battery was designed to meet that need because large swaths of farmland, numerous jobs, and substantial economic activity depend on efficient water and nutrient management.
A new agricultural revolution
Today, farming aims to combine economic performance with environmental considerations. Every year, vast amounts of water in Spain—around 10,000 cubic meters total—remain unutilized due to distribution challenges and basin interconnections. Experts argue that solving this issue is critical as climate change intensifies the need for intelligent water management.
Industry leaders call for a new agricultural revolution, drawing a parallel to how drip irrigation transformed farming in the 1980s. As the climate crisis tightens water availability, the future of water transfers in Spain becomes more complex, requiring innovative solutions and coordinated action.
A pilot remote-monitoring project is underway in Valencia, targeting roughly 2,000 hectares with pre-existing irrigation. Twelve communities have joined forces to create a network of 26 capacitive multi-sensor probes, enabling real-time assessment and adjustment of soil moisture in response to rainfall and irrigation, aligning water use with actual crop needs.
Early results from the first three irrigation campaigns show a meaningful reduction in water consumption across managed communities without compromising production or harvest quality. These findings are summarized in a reference report by the Royal Society of Chemistry, which highlights the potential for data-driven decisions to transform irrigation efficiency (Source: Royal Society of Chemistry report, 2022).