Mobile Phone Runs on Coke, The Drink

Phys.org

Daizi Zheng, a Chinese developer who is currently based in London, has modified a Nokia cell phone to run on Coca-Cola or any other sugary solution.

Zheng says the modified phone can run three or four times longer on a single charge than a phone using a conventional lithium ion battery, and can also be fully biodegradable.

As Zheng explains, a sugar-powered phone could potentially offer a much more environmentally friendly power source than lithium ion batteries. The new phone's bio battery, which basically acts as a fuel cell, uses enzymes as the catalyst to generate electricity from carbohydrates.

The phone can run for several hours, and produces water and carbon dioxide as the battery runs down. The phone can then be emptied out and refilled with more Coca-Cola.

Zheng designed the phone as a client project for Nokia, but there's no word on whether the company plans to incorporate the concept into future products.

"It brings a whole new perception to batteries and afternoon tea," Zheng wrote on her project's website.

Interesting. Judging by the looks of the phone i don't think id pick it over my Iphone. I know i know im enslaving the Congo and middle east and being selfish, but still. The fact that the phone is biodegradable though is really cool and i would probably buy one just to check it out. Anyway i thought some posters would have fun with this one enjoy.

reply to post by onequestion


I think this is really cool. Maybe make a cell phone battery that can be plugged into the chager port instead of being a primary battery source. I could also see maybe outfitting this into batteries for something other than a cell phone. Having a battery that can be recharged without an electrical outlet would be perfect for power outages and survival situations. You can store just-add-water lemonade mix easily and it could be used as the battery catalyst.Or maybe even use the little gatorade packets, which could be used for your battery and to replace fluids

After being intially skeptical about it, after a bit more reading I'm now thinking

- in 2010 when it was designed, it is rubbish
- at present, its not worthwhile
- in the distant future, it might possibly work.

Because it uses the idea of biobatteries, and this new technology just isnt there yet.

Using enzymes to convert sugar to energy is interesting, but conventional battery technology still wins at the moment.

As a comparison, here is a Sony battery pack from 2007, powering an mp3 player...


Rather large, isnt it?

reply to post by onequestion


The article contradicts itself somewhat. It states that the Coca Cola powered phone would run for three to four times longer than a conventional phone using a normal lithium ion battery, but then goes on to say that it could run for "several hours". My mobile phone may not be a super duper, all singing all dancing, star trek level smartphone, but its battery can run for pretty much one whole week without charge, or indeed being switched off. So which is it?

Either this new gadget can, or cannot outperform industry standards for mobile phone power systems. It literally cannot both do so, and fail to do so.

It's probably good for an oh-crap battery but for anything apple thats a no-no as the battery is designed not to be user replaceable but aint there solar rechargers these days so all you need to do is leave it in sunlight and job done not crack on a coke or even worse crack open and waste a beer to power your cell?

reply to post by blivey


Good idea. I would actually consider this as an investment option if they came up with something like that. I can buy a huge mixture of lemonade or some other kind of mix and store it anywhere in my house easily for situations like you propose above.

There are plenty of wind up rechargers around so you don't need to carry extra rations to top up your phone and i'm sure while walking even the most bored 14 year old will turn a handle if its the only thing keeping them in touch with the farcebook page

reply to post by alfa1

As a comparison, here is a Sony battery pack from 2007, powering an mp3 player...

That's not large at all.... This is just another example of big oil trying to suppress and destroy all the sugar-tech based battery systems and free energy.

Everyone knows a phone with a battery the size of small tablet PC would be the best selling product to hit the market as long as we didn't have to plug it in for pennies to recharge.

Originally posted by Maxatoria
There are plenty of wind up rechargers around so you don't need to carry extra rations to top up your phone and i'm sure while walking even the most bored 14 year old will turn a handle if its the only thing keeping them in touch with the farcebook page

No 14 year old is going to wind a handle unless it's mandatory in the marketplace and all other traditional lithium ion et al batteries are banned.

Hell, a 14 year old wouldn't be caught dead with first generation cell phones and they used to be chic when they first hit the market.

"What's a walkman?"

Originally posted by Maxatoria
There are plenty of wind up rechargers around so you don't need to carry extra rations to top up your phone and i'm sure while walking even the most bored 14 year old will turn a handle if its the only thing keeping them in touch with the farcebook page

No 14 year old is going to wind a handle unless it's mandatory in the marketplace and all other traditional lithium ion et al batteries are banned.

Hell, a 14 year old wouldn't be caught dead with first generation cell phones and they used to be chic when they first hit the market.

"What's a walkman?"