Electronic Tree

Researchers harness potential difference between a tree and the soil to power tiny electrical circuits.

Trees are known to provide cooling, oxygen and shade, but a new research conducted by scientists at the University of Washington has proved that trees can provide something that not many would have thought of before – electricity. The scientists have successfully powered tiny electrical circuits with nothing more than the energy they harnessed from bigleaf maples.

A similar research conducted at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that plants generate a voltage of about 200mV when one electrode is placed in the plant and the other in the surrounding soil. The UW team carried the research forward by connecting a custom boost converter that works for input voltages of as little as 20mV and produces an output of about 1.1V, which is enough to run low-power sensors.


While the new research won’t end the energy crisis anytime soon, it can be used as a low-cost option for powering tree sensors that might be used to detect environmental conditions, forest fires or simply the health of the tree.