Engineered Living Energy Materials
ABSTRACT To foster sustainable development, a pivotal trend lies in harnessing sustainable energy supplies that propel modern economic and societal progress. Recent advancements in living materials for energy applications have sparked a groundbreaking research area: engineered living energy materials (ELEMs), which seamlessly integrate biological and artificial systems for efficient energy conversion and storage. To consolidate and propel this research area, herein, we summarize and delve into the evolution of ELEMs. Firstly, we provide an overview of the structural features and energy conversion mechanisms employed by bio‐modules spanning proteins, organelles, and entire organisms. They can be directly used as components for constructing ELEMs or provide inspirations for the design of such entities. Then, we comprehensively review the latest research strides in ELEMs based on their distinct energy conversion modes. Finally, we discuss the challenges confronting ELEMs and envision their future trajectories. The progress of ELEMs holds immense potential to catalyze interdisciplinary research endeavors encompassing medicine, environmental science, and energy technologies.
Authors
- Xinyi Yuan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3627-4535)
- Dake Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0931-7189)
- Giuseppe Maria Paternò (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2349-566X)
- Xingwu Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8564-1151)
- Xinyu Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2666-8124)
- Ke Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3190-1202)
- Chao Zhong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6638-3652)
- Jicong Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1066-6423)
- Jing Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7792-4322)
- Chen Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1468-2906)
- Yan Tang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1570-4732)
- Bolin An (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7198-5834)
- Qianyi Liang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-6334-4421)
- Minyue Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3393-215X)
- Haiyi Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-2956-9692)
Institutions
- Nanjing Normal University (CN)
- Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology (CN)
- Northeastern University (CN)
- Politecnico di Milano (IT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Interdisciplinary materials
- Published
- 2025-04-29
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/idm2.12245
- Citations
- 7
- Primary Topic
- Microbial Fuel Cells and Bioremediation
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 5.59
Funders
- Natural Science Foundation of Shenzhen City
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars