HONEY BATTERIES, workshop/performance

name: Bee Monitoring, installation, year start: 2014, year end: 2014, techniques: honey, aluminum, copper, lemon, thanks to: Ralf Schreiber

Why honey batteries and how to make them? I did some experiments with honey batteries: the honey as electrolyte gel,  the copper- and aluminum foil work as electrodes, thin coffee filter paper as isolator. It works fine and the generated current lights up some connected LEDS for a while.
Since honey contains electrolytes, in the form of acids and minerals, it exhibits varying degrees of electrical conductivity. Experimenting with honey batteries is a nice way to learn about possibilities of powering the sensors in the beehives in an alternative way. Of course the honeybatteries are not powerful enough to fulfill this task, they are more like a conceptual illustration for possible new energy sources, as for example microbial fuel cells.

diy-honeybattery2 volta3
How to make Honey Batteries, inspired on the first battery designed by Volta.

IMG_8824 batteries
Biomimetic Beehives made from wax and energy generated by honey batteries together illustrate the concept of the sustainable Guerilla Beehive.

Honey batteries were presented
– as part of the Foraging Fields installation in the exhibition FIELDS, Riga – Latvia, from 15 may 2014 to august 4 2014.