1. Introduction
The electrification of transport has made battery technology a focal point of research and development. However, conventional manufacturing and disposal methods involving toxic elements present several direct and indirect environmental implications. This research review proposes a biomimetic approach to transition from material-centric to structure- and ecosystem-based functionality across various scales in energy storage. This encompasses electrode fabrication, material functionalization, separators, charge–discharge transfer ecosystems, geometrical arrangements, and thermal regulation. Nature-inspired fundamental structures such as gradients, cellular, fibrous, and tubular configurations were specifically explored for electrode slurry and binder functionalities, while sutures and overlapping scales were investigated for cell design. Geobacter and its related microbial ecosystems were identified as potential ecosystems for bio-designing charge transfer.
2. Objective
By shifting the focus from chemical innovation to structural and systemic design, this study aims to advocate for the utilization of life-conducive energy materials and resilient cell architectures to eliminate the adverse environmental impacts associated with traditional battery manufacturing and disposal restrictions.
3. Methods and Results
The available scientific literature, frameworks, and tools related to nature-inspired energy storage technologies were reviewed and analyzed. A co-creative, frugal, and agile framework is proposed for integrating nature-inspired structures and ecosystems at various stages of cell and battery fabrication. Gaps in the literature, existing methodologies, and future directions concerning biomimetic batteries were identified.
Supplementary Materials
The presentation materials can be downloaded at: https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/proceedings2024107034/s1.
Funding
This research received no external funding.
Institutional Review Board Statement
Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement
Not applicable.
Data Availability Statement
The datasets presented in this article are not readily available because the data are part of an ongoing study. Requests to access the datasets should be directed to dhikxxenergy@gmail.com.
Conflicts of Interest
The author declares no conflicts of interest.
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© 2024 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).