Scientists believe they have created the first mobile phone to run on urine. Dr Ioannis Ieropoulos is pictured at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory holding a phone powered by a microbial fuel cell stack Mobile phone owners could soon be able to give their batteries a boost with their own urine. British scientists at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory have developed a way of using urine as a power source to generate electricity and claim to have created the world's first microbial fuel cells (MFC) powered mobile phone. While many people might turn their noses up at the energy source, the researchers said that it is the 'ultimate waste product' and does not rely on the erratic nature of the wind or the sun. The scientists shared their breakthrough in the Royal Society of Chemistry Journal of Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics. Dr Ioannis Ieropoulos, an expert at harnessing power from unusual sources using microbial fuel cells at the University of West England, Bristol, which was also involved in the research, said the urine-powered phone is a 'world first'. 'No-one has harnessed power from urine so it’s an exciting discovery. 'Using the ultimate waste product as a source of power to produce electricity is about as eco as it gets. 'One product that we can be sure of an unending supply is our own urine. |