Columbus, OH--A research consortium of Battelle, the University of Missouri at Rolla (UMR), St. Louis University (SLU) and Photon Futures, LLC recently was named the winner of the Air Force Research Laboratory Munitions Directorate's Campus Challenge II, a two-year national competition to develop a concept for a lightweight, compact power system for robotic aircraft, missiles and, potentially, space travel.

Plant photosynthesis, cell metabolism, and fish that generate 800-volt electric shocks inspired the winning design. Several separate inventions combine to make up the overall design, each contributed by a different partner using elements from nature. As each part of the invention was developed, the partners worked closely to ensure that each element could be fully integrated.

Battelle's Bruce Monzyk and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's Peter Martin invented a key process used in the winning entry, called Photolytically-Driven ElectroChemistry (PDEC), which carries out photosynthesis similar to the way plants do. A solid-state device uses light energy to regenerate oxygen and fuel from the water and carbon dioxide exhausted by the fuel cell. Battelle's Herman Benecke will lead development of a light harvesting approach to maximize use of available solar radiation by the PDEC system.

"This onboard fuel regeneration will be the key to lightweights and long mission times without the repeated refueling needed, especially for robotic applications," says Monzyk.

In a contribution from researchers at SLU, the oxygen and fuel produced by the PDEC device are used in a biologically-inspired fuel cell to produce electricity. This invention uses natural enzymes to extract energy from fuel molecules.

The PDEC device and the bio-inspired fuel cell work together to produce electricity at low voltage, but the UMR group invented a subsystem to boost that electricity to a higher voltage inspired by the stacked living cells that electric eels use to convert weak electrical signals to higher voltages.

The device may power radios, cameras, computers, robotic aircraft, missiles and more.

The team is seeking further funding to validate and develop the technologies, and produce an integrated working prototype.

Battelle is the world's largest non-profit independent research and development organization, with 20,000 employees in more than 120 locations worldwide, including five national laboratories Battelle manages or co-manages for the U.S. Department of Energy. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Battelle conducts $3.8 billion in R&D annually through contract research, laboratory management, and technology commercialization. As a non-profit charitable trust with an eye toward the future, Battelle actively supports and promotes science and math education.

For more information, visit www.battelle.org or contact Media Relations Manager Mark Berry at (614) 424-5544 or berrym@battelle.org.