Wireless marine sensor networks support an assortment of services in industries ranging from national security and defense to communications and environmental stewardship. Expansion of marine sensor networks has been inhibited by the limited availability and high cost of long-term power sources. Benthic Microbial Fuel Cells (BMFCs) are a novel form of energy harvesting for marine environments. Through research conducted in-lab and by academic collaborators, Trophos Energy has developed a series of novel BMFC architectures to improve power generation capability and overall system robustness. When integrated with Trophos' power management electronics, BMFCs offer a robust, long-term power solution for a variety of remote marine applications. The discussions provided in this paper outline the architectural evolution of BMFC technology to date, recent experimental results that will govern future BMFC designs, and the present and future applicability of BMFC systems as power sources for wireless marine sensor networks.

Date Published: 5 May 2010
PDF: 11 pages
Proc. SPIE 7666, Sensors, and Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence (C3I) Technologies for Homeland Security and Homeland Defense IX, 76662M (5 May 2010); doi: 10.1117/12.854896

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 7666:
Sensors, and Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence (C3I) Technologies for Homeland Security and Homeland Defense IX
Edward M. Carapezza, Editor(s)