Microbes to power ocean sensors in $7.8M DARPA project

In Texas,Yokogawa Corporation of America announced that it has joined a research team awarded $7.8 million by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to develop a biologically fueled energy system to power ocean monitoring devices. The Persistent Oceanographic Device Power project aims to create microbial fuel cells capable of generating consistent electricity to revolutionize energy harvesting in marine environments.

“MFCs are an innovative technology that converts organic matter directly into electricity by harnessing the metabolic activities of microorganisms,” explained Dr. Amro Hassanein, Co-Principal Investigator and technology strategist for Yokogawa. He emphasized that MFCs “can process a variety of organic substrates including wastewater, agricultural residues, industrial byproducts, and marine biomass, demonstrating their versatility in applications such as on-site power generation, bioremediation, and biosensing.”

The project’s goal is to generate up to 10 watts of power continuously for a year, overcoming current challenges in electrode materials, microbial optimization, and reactor design. With partners including Harvard University and Johns Hopkins, Yokogawa will lead efforts in precision monitoring and machine learning to enhance MFC scalability and performance.

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