What if we could GROW our high-tech materials?

What if, instead of manufacturing new technologies — which often means high energy and materials costs — we could grow some of the parts that go into them?

That’s what scientists at the University of Stuttgart are looking at as part of a cross-faculty research project to produce materials for devices like solar cells via biological means.

Their focus is oxide ceramics, materials that can be used in photovoltaics, fuel cells and scratch-resistant coatings. Currently, producing oxide ceramics requires high levels of process engineering, as well as high temperatures and/or pressure. All these translate into high production costs and limitations on the use of some materials — for example, temperature-sensitive plastics that can’t be used in high-temperature processes.

The Stuttgart researchers are looking at ways to imitate natural biomineralisation to create useful non-metallic inorganic materials. Unfortunately, nature tends to produce only minerals of minor technical importance. The trick lies with finding ways to imitate nature while creating more useful substances for technology.

Supported with €1.5 million from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, the interdisciplinary project has an initial term of three years and will bring together scientists from such fields as zoology, molecular biology and virology, material science, technical biochemistry and materials testing.