The “Pee Power” urinal that turns pee into electricity – designed by researchers at the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) – is taking centre stage in the Stone Circle at Glastonbury Festival (UK) for the second year running. The team of researchers from UWE Bristol, and workers from Oxfam and Dunster House shelter manufacturers, are using the festival like a field trial in advance of planned trials in Africa and India later this year.

The toilet will contribute to the facilities needed on site but the real purpose behind taking the unit to Glastonbury is to excite and inform the audience about a technology in its relative infancy that has the potential to change the lives of those living in countries where sanitation and electricity are off grid.

The unit is powered by urine fed through microbial fuel cells (MFCs) that generate enough electricity to light up the inside of the urinal.

Read the full article here

Photo credit: FuelCellWorks