Microengines: The Batteries of the Future

University of Birmingham engineers have developed tiny engines only a few millimetres wide, that could soon replace a standard battery.

Lead by Dr. Kyle Jiang, investigators at the University's School of Engineering are the first to manufacture these engines in a durable, heat resistant material such as a ceramic or silicon carbide.

As a result, these micro-engines will have over 300 times more energy than an ordinary battery and are much lighter and smaller.

These new power-supplying machines could be used to charge mobile phones and lap top computers in a matter of seconds and could also be used for a range of other applications such as micro-factories, tiny "labs-on-a-chip" that will be able to make drugs, chemicals or small mechanical components.