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.

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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.