Here's how fungus might help recycle your phone's dead battery

Not mushroom for the pun
Not mushroom for the pun

A huge amount of the technology we use today relies on rechargeable batteries, but a breakthrough involving the humble fungus could mean lithium and cobalt is extracted from the ones we throw away.

A new process developed by a group of scientists headed up by Dr Jeffrey A.Cunningham is hoping to stop old batteries being stuck in landfill or even incinerated by using fungi to extract the metals.

"Fungi naturally generate organic acids, and the acids work to leach out the metals," Cunningham explains.

"Through the interaction of the fungus, acid and pulverized cathode, we can extract the valuable cobalt and lithium. We are aiming to recover nearly all of the original material."

Cheap source of labor

Cunningham refers to the Fungi as a 'very cheap source of labor' and the team will now turn their attention to the next stage of the process - getting the lithium and cobalt out of the acid created.

"We have ideas about how to remove [them], but at this point they remain ideas," he says. "However, figuring out the initial extraction with fungi was a big step forward."

Lithium is very much in demand as the need for batteries in our devices grows, so getting the process right solves an increasing problem, and by using a natural process the environmental damage is lessened.

From Eurekalert

Patrick Goss

Patrick Goss is the ex-Editor in Chief of TechRadar. Patrick was a passionate and experienced journalist, and he has been lucky enough to work on some of the finest online properties on the planet, building audiences everywhere and establishing himself at the forefront of digital content.  After a long stint as the boss at TechRadar, Patrick has now moved on to a role with Apple, where he is the Managing Editor for the App Store in the UK.

Latest in Phones
Three iPhone 16 handsets on show
Apple could launch an iPhone 17 Ultra this year – but we've heard these rumors before
Man using iMessage on an iPhone
Apple will finally enable encrypted RCS messages between iOS and Android, and it's about time
Android 16 logo on a phone
Android 16 Beta 3 has arrived – here are the 4 features I think will be the most useful
Apple iPhone 16e on blue background with big savings text overlay
Total Wireless' latest iPhone 16e deal gets you $300 off plus a cheap plan for a year
Apple iPhone 16e REVIEW
Some iPhone 16e owners are reporting Bluetooth audio issues that could be an iOS problem
The Apple iPhone 16e held at a slant at a window
From iPhone to Android and (almost) back again – the iPhone 16e failed to lure me back to iOS
Latest in News
A super close up image of the Google Gemini app in the Play Store
It's official: Google Assistant will be retired for phones this year, with Gemini taking over
Quordle on a smartphone held in a hand
Quordle hints and answers for Sunday, March 16 (game #1147)
NYT Strands homescreen on a mobile phone screen, on a light blue background
NYT Strands hints and answers for Sunday, March 16 (game #378)
NYT Connections homescreen on a phone, on a purple background
NYT Connections hints and answers for Sunday, March 16 (game #644)
Three iPhone 16 handsets on show
Apple could launch an iPhone 17 Ultra this year – but we've heard these rumors before
Super Mario Odyssey
ChatGPT is the ultimate gaming tool - here's 4 ways you can use AI to help with your next playthrough