Royal Society of Chemistry and Professor Saiful Islam have set a new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ highest voltage from a fruit battery.
We used 2,923 lemons to generate an astonishing 2,307.8 volts, which smashed ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ previous world record of 1,521 volts, and launched a battery-powered go-kart race run by ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ . ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ electrifying feat was designed to highlight ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ importance of energy storage and ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ need for new innovations for a zero-carbon world against ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ backdrop of ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ COP26 Climate Change Summit.
“It was very exciting to regain our Guinness World Records title by squeezing ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ highest voltage from a fruit battery. It’s an amazing feat, but it’s still not an effective battery – ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ amount of electrical power would not be enough to turn on a smart television.
It's an exciting time to be a scientist in general and a chemical scientist in particular – as scientific research is crucial to understand how batteries work and to discover new materials that will give us technologies that can store more energy, are safer and recharge faster.
“Batteries have a vital role to play in reducing carbon emissions – and have come a long way with modern lithium batteries helping to power ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ revolution in portable electronics and mobile phones.
“If we are serious about reaching net zero carbon status we need better batteries – to power more electric vehicles and to store ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ energy from renewable sources such as wind and solar.
"It’s an exciting time to be a scientist in general and a chemical scientist in particular – as scientific research is crucial to understand how batteries work and to discover new materials that will give us technologies that can store more energy, are safer and recharge faster.
“We also have to be able to recycle and reuse ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØse batteries effectively to enable a truly sustainable energy future.”
Professor Saiful Islam, RSC trustee, professor of materials chemistry at ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ University of Bath and expert panel member of ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ Faraday Institution
After all that zest
Following ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ record attempt, ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ used lemons were responsibly processed by , who generate renewable energy from food waste using ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ (similar to an industrial-scale compost heap) to produce biogas. After furÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØr refinement ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ biogas is pumped directly into ÀÖÌìÌÃappÏÂÔØ National Gas Grid. Any remaining liquid is transformed into bio-fertiliser for local farming and agricultural use.