First Algae-powered building goes up in Hamburg
Phys.org reports on a completely self-sufficient apartment building revealed at the International Housing Exhibition in Hamburg, which produces renewable energy by harvesting micro-algae.
The 15-apartment block has 129 algae filled tanks hanging over the exterior of the south-east and south-west sides of the building— powered exclusively by algae.
The fast-growing algae not only create biofuel, they also produce heat, shade the building, and abate street noise. The algae were retrieved from the nearby Elbe river, and put into large thin rectangular clear cases. Inside, the algae live in a water solution and are provided nutrients and carbon dioxide by an automated system. Each tank was then affixed to the outside walls of the building onto scaffolding that allows for turning the tanks towards the sun—similar to technology used for solar collectors.
In ten years, everyone will be doing it.…