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Spinoff story
Electrified Bacteria Clean Wastewater, Generate Power
A real-world story of NASA technology finding a life beyond the mission.
About this technology
Overview
A group of graduate students used a NASA grant to study ideas for “bioelectric space exploration,” including a fuel cell powered by wastewater and based on bacteria that “breathe” electricity. They later won NASA SBIR funding, including a Johnson Space Center contract for a cell that could turn waste into energy, hydrogen, or methane. Their company, Boston-based Cambrian Innovation, now offers the EcoVolt reactor, which uses exoelectrogenic microbes to clean wastewater while generating methane for energy at 10 breweries and wineries and counting.