About the project
Design and develop new urban agriculture systems that combine electricity-producing microbial cells with soil-less plant growing methods.
You’d develop novel microbial fuel cells (MFC) to be combined with hydroponic systems in one ecosystem.
The aim is to maximise electricity output, reduce nitrogen and phosphorous from wastewaters and capture carbon dioxide with this ‘Mi-Hy’ circular hydrophonic-bioelectrical system. Mi-Hy’s only inputs are atmospheric CO2, light and household wastewater stream.
The project is part of an EU European Innovation Council Pathfinder Challenges programme, working with 4 EU partners to combine MFC technology with hydroponics.
You'd use MFC biofilm as a prosthetic rhizosphere for plant roots that use fungi and bacteria's symbiotic relationships to obtain nutrients from the environment. This will optimise nitrogen utilisation (synthesis of chlorophyll and amino acids), reducing the need for chemical nitrogen sources and turning carbon into biomass.
The system you develop will include a microbial electrolysis cell powered by the MFC to perform microbial electrosynthesis from wastewater even when it’s dark.
