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In 2009, the world discarded an estimated 40 billion small batteries. Growing use of this throwaway commodity has fueled demand for rare metals such as cobalt, neodymium, rhenium and others, while also sparking innovations that may one day wean the world away from traditional batteries as we know them.

Tiny variations in demand for rare metals can send prices up and down by factor ten. Demand for batteries powering hearing aids, pacemakers, cell phones, MP3 players and watches may expand to 100 billion units annually worldwide within three to five years with a market retail value of nearly $150 billion.

(Drawing courtesy Jorge Reynolds)

Most rare metal supply comes from a handful of mines located in remote areas in Inner Mongolia, Siberia and the Republic of Congo. Supply is subject to harsh climate and political uncertainties. Within this context it is no surprise that venture funds are betting heavily on the design of a wide portfolio of innovative green batteries.

Green batteries are not a long term solution to the challenges described. They are a transitional solution. While green power sources substitute cadmium and mercury with lithium and nickel, these supposedly eco-friendly batteries that cause less harm to the environment and pose lower risks to our health rely on a different variety of minute amounts of rare earth elements which require mining, smelting and carbon emissions that contribute to climate change.

Recent innovations in energy supply at the Fraunhofer Institute (Germany), one of the world’s leading centers of applied research, provide a different pathway.

Peter Spies and his colleagues designed a cell phone that operates battery-free using the temperature difference between body and phone to provide energy to keep the phone on stand-by. The conversion of sound waves created by voice into an electric current

through a piezo-electric device powers the call as long as there is conversation.

Nano-carbon wires designed by Dr. Jorge Reynolds reducing resistance to electric current the way the whales resolved the challenge, growing from a dog into the largest mammal. This eliminates the need for a pacemaker. (Drawing courtesy Jorge Reynolds)

This is an existing science turned successful since the same team designed phone devices already in use that require less energy.

Independent of this research and taking another tactic, Jorge Reynolds, one of the inventors of the pacemaker, demonstrated the capacity to reduce resistance to current inspired by the whale’s electric power generation and distribution. Millions of years ago, whales evolved from land-based dog-like creatures.

In order to maintain the required level of pulsation power, the whale’s heart needed to improve conductivity and did so, biologically. It is the combination of reduced resistance as imagined by Reynolds, and reduced energy requirements as demonstrated by Fraunhofer, that permits the redesign of power for miniaturized electronics, ultimately eliminating batteries.

The introduction of a new pacemaker without batteries is a long term goal. The elimination of a battery from cell phones implies a redefinition of supply chain management. This is not viable short term. That is why Reynolds created CoroCare Inc., a California-based venture company to bring innovations to the market.

The first application is a battery-free device to measure body temperature. Market potential includes a simple patch to measure a woman’s body temperature to determine ovulation. This innovative application does not compete with existing electronic devices and does not substitute batteries.

The opportunity to enter the market of gadgets without batteries focuses on high-end applications in mobile micro-electronics where the cost of electric current per kilowatt hour is high and the size of the battery creates discomfort.

The first market that comes to mind after the patch is the hearing aid. The cost for one kilowatt hour is in excess of $135 and a single device can cost more than $2500.

This high cost opens the door for design of a battery power source substitute ─ one driven by body temperature differentials. This device without battery would be lighter, hardly visible, and cheaper.

Reynolds has designed a mobile electro-cardiogram device (EKG) that monitors the heart beat over a 24 hour period through a mere patch equipped with minute electronics permitting the reading of the heart beat without batteries or wires.

Imagine Lance Armstrong participating in the next Tour de France while fans monitor his heart conditions in real time over the internet as he towers the Alps.

The substitution of batteries to a no battery environment is a new competitive business model in the making. These core technologies are open source and provide a platform for entrepreneurs without overloading our environment with mining, smelting and the disposal of toxic waste and result in products at a lower cost with increased comfort.

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This innovation is the fourth of Professor Gunter Pauli’s 100 innovations featured in his book “The Blue Economy.” The innovations are being published one per week over 100 weeks and can be viewed in full online at www.zeroemissionshawaii.org

The World Congress on Zero Emissions Initiatives – Launching “The Blue Economy” is slated Sept. 13-17, 2010 at the Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu.

The Congress will focus on design of an economic system driven by innovations, generating jobs and building social capital. The innovations being addressed at the World Congress are related to Energy, Food, Health, Housing, Transportation, Waste and Water.

An added aspect of this particular World Congress and its location in Hawaii is the opportunity to integrate protocols of the host Hawaiian culture and the opportunity for delegates to learn from a prosperity model of ancient Hawaii known as the ahupuaa system.

Furthermore, this Congress will set new levels of close to zero waste at the Hawaii Convention Center while establishing best practices and standards for future conferences, conventions and meetings including locally-sourced food offerings during the Congress dates. Pre and post World Congress opportunities on all Hawaiian Islands will allow delegates to experience actual innovations while also enjoying much of what Hawaii has to offer.

Sponsors of The World Congress on Zero Emissions Initiatives – Launching “The Blue Economy” include CT & T America, the world’s largest producer of electrical vehicles; First Wind, focused exclusively on the development, ownership and operation of wind energy projects; Blue Planet Foundation, seeking to foster systemic change in how Hawaii generates and uses energy; Hawaiian Electric Company, committed to meeting the long-term energy needs of Hawaii; Puna Geothermal Venture, the only commercial producer of geothermal energy in Hawaii; and SOPOGY, focused at developing the new sector of solar known as Micro-Scaled Concentrating Solar Power or “MicroCSP.”

Early registration is open until May 31. Register online at: http://zeroemissionshawaii.org/