In the Department of Applied Chemistry and other materials of the Technological Institute of Energy (ITE) they have been working since last month on a project that jumps on the bandwagon of wearables with technology ‘made in Valencia’. It is the Energym Cell project developed by the Valencian center and which aims to develop a biopile to collect energy from the sweat that is released and that impregnates fabrics such as sports shirts and use it to power devices that incorporate IoT in the field of personal monitoring.
They will go step by step, warns Laura García Carmona, head of the biotechnology line in the area of ??Applied Chemistry and New Materials at ITE, a woman from Madrid who has lived in Valencia for four years. “How long? The development of sensors has a higher level of maturity and in the short term there could already be T-shirts, but for the biopile we will need more time, it is necessary to generate enough power”, acknowledges the researcher.
The project has six people working in the technical department, mostly women: biologists, chemists, engineers or doctors. Also with electronic engineering personnel and with the support of the rest of the ITE. The project is financed by IVACE.
The project started in June could have developed the electrode on the textile support by the end of June 2024, once they have proven, among others, that it does not generate irritation in the dermis after having tested it in laboratory conditions in a preliminary manner, García Carmona details. .
One of the aspects that most worries researchers is the resistance of the sensor to washing the fabric, an issue that is not minor. “Washing is one of the most difficult aspects because it has to be resistant without losing properties,” explains the researcher.
Textile companies, electronics producers and monitoring users also participate in the development of the idea. For companies, explains García Carmona, there is great interest in completing the research, since the market is increasingly demanding more portable electronic devices, such as smartwatches.
Whether for amateur athletes or professionals, they allow easy monitoring of training, storing and transmitting information, although the drawback is the lack of a battery that must be charged periodically, a niche that ITE is exploring with this project.
