Crabs Revolutionizing the Battery Industry

EVERY YEAR, WE PRODUCE ABOUT 6 TO 8 million tons of crab, shrimp, and lobster shell waste globally, with most of it dumped straight back into the ocean or into landfills.

The issue isn't the colossal amount of scraps, but the lost opportunity: The hardy exoskeletons of crabs and their marine ilk are rich in useful, versatile chemicals like chitin, the second-most abundant natural polymer found on Earth. Because it and its sister polymer, chitosan, are considered ecofriendly and nontoxic, scientists are interested in incorporating these chemical compounds into batteries.

In a paper published in the journal Matter, a group of engineers at the University of Maryland did just that, crafting a chitin-zinc battery that's biodegradable but still holds considerable juice. As the world moves toward a more sustainable future, the hope is that a rechargeable, crab-derived battery could be a viable alternative to (or a replacement for) lithium-ion batteries.