Bioo charges your phone from a potted plant

You probably know that you can use a potato as a battery and power clocks and small light bulbs from it. You don’t have to use a potato either -- certain other vegetables and fruits work just as well.

Arkyne Technologies claims that plants can also be used as a power source, and has produced a product called Bioo Lite which is able to use leafy green flora to charge devices, like smartphones and tablets. The company is currently seeking finance for its invention on Indiegogo where it has already hit 112 percent of its funding goal with a month to go.

Bioo Lite is, essentially, a potted plant with a sealed water tank and a USB cable in it. You look after the plant as normal, watering it regularly, and that generates enough power to charge any devices you plug into it.

I know what you’re thinking -- you wouldn’t get much of a charge from a plant, but it’s claimed Bioo Lite allows 2 to 3 charges per day with 3.5v, 0.5A of power. Electricity is produced night and day, so you can charge your device at any time, and if the plant dies, just replace it and you’re good to go.

So how does it work? Arkyne Technologies says:

The magic happens inside the plant pot, where energy created by the plant´s biological elements expelled after photosynthesis is transferred for our use in form of electricity. This matter is produced with or without Bioo, it is simply part of the essential process of photosynthesis in which every plant has to take part to live. This way, we are not forcing the plant to do or create anything else rather than what it always makes. It does not harm the plant in any way, either the technology or the process applied, and so environment is also a great winner from the implementation of this revolutionary technology.

Arkyne is working on a larger scale product, Bioo, which produces power from a panel of grass that you can plant in your garden.

The white Bioo Lite pot is 21 x 11 x 11 cm in size, and can be had by pledging €89. Worldwide shipping is estimated for December.

You’ll find the campaign page here.

I’m slightly skeptical about the Bioo Lite I’ll be honest, as frankly it sounds too good to be true, but I plan to review it in the future and it will be interesting to see just how well the product fares.