Biomimicry -A Key to the Planet's Energy Future?

Biomimicry is a new science that studies nature’s best ideas and then imitates these designs and processes to solve human problems. Studying a leaf to invent a better solar cell is an example of this “innovation inspired by nature.”

Being that the supply of crude oil is finite, the very foundation of our economy will one day run dry. Nature, on the other hand, runs on the unlimited bounty of sunlight and creates no waste. Unlimited clean energy is just one example of the genius of nature which author Janine Benyus points out in her landmark work, Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature.

A fascinating example of a next-generation power source mimicking the genius of nature is the Australian firm BioPower Systems, which has developed Biowave: an ocean power system that harnesses energy by mimicking the motion of underwater plants in the ocean currents to generate electricity.

Biowave is but one example of biomimicking many that Benyus points out we would do well to learn from: Arctic fish and frogs freeze solid and then spring to life, having protected their organs from ice damage. Black bears hibernate all winter without poisoning themselves on their urea, while their polar cousins stay active with a coat of transparent hollow hairs covering their skins like the panes of a greenhouse. Chameleons and cuttlefish hide without moving, changing the pattern of their skin to instantly blend with their surroundings. Bees, turtles, and birds navigate without maps, while whales and penguins dive without scuba gear.

How do they do it? How do dragonflies outmaneuver our best helicopters? How do hummingbirds cross the Gulf of Mexico on less than one tenth of an ounce of fuel? How do ants carry the equivalent of hundreds of pounds in a dead heat through the jungle? How do muscles attach to rock in a wet environment?

The answers to these questions may seem like trivia to non-expert, but "The difference between what life needs to do and what we need to do is another one of those boundaries that doesn't exist. Beyond mattes of scale, the differences dissolve."

Biowave mimics the swaying motion of the sea plants found in the ocean bed. The system looks like three buoyant blades which are constantly oscillating to the motion of the sea. As they sway in the tide, electricity is generated. If at any point the system is in danger because of the strong currents, it simply lies in flat until the ocean calms down.

BioPower Systems is currently testing a prototype off the coast of Tasmania. A prototype unit of 250kw will inform the company on how to best deploy a larger scale system which in turn is expected to provide power to Flinders and King islands, and in the future, if successful, the entire state of Victoria, home of the city of Melbourne.

Posted by Casey Kazan.