1. Activate
Fluid enters the cellulose microfluidic structure and enables the electrochemical process.
BeFC®
Thin bioenzymatic fuel-cell power
Published BeFC technology
A metal-free energy source for low-power electronics.
BeFC develops paper-based bioenzymatic fuel cells for low-power microelectronics. Unlike a miniature battery that stores energy in reactive materials, the BeFC cell generates electricity through enzymatic reactions involving glucose and oxygen.
BeFC describes the cell as predominantly cellulose- and carbon-based, metal-free, thin and flexible, with activation provided by biological or environmental fluid or by a dedicated liquid-reservoir architecture.
Nominal cell voltage0.75 V per paper biofuel cell, as published by BeFC
PowerUp to a few mW/cm² peak; longevity-oriented operation at a few hundred µW/cm²
ActivationBiological/environmental fluid or a dedicated liquid reservoir
Operating lifeApplication-dependent — BeFC states minutes to months depending on sensing and communications duty cycle
2. Oxidise
Enzyme-functionalised carbon electrodes catalyse glucose oxidation at the anode.
3. Reduce
A second enzyme-functionalised electrode catalyses oxygen reduction at the cathode, producing electrical current through the circuit.
4. Power electronics
The resulting low-power supply can support duty-cycled sensing, memory operations and wireless communications.
Published operating envelope
Designed for microelectronics — not as a general replacement for high-energy batteries.
Low-power useBeFC identifies logistics tracking, wearables and single-use medical tests as representative applications.
Duty-cycled operationBeFC specifically describes sleeping a microcontroller, waking to sense, writing data to memory and then communicating wirelessly.
Energy densityBeFC acknowledges that its technology does not compete with lithium batteries in power or energy density.
Cell vs deviceThe paper biofuel cell can be compostable; a complete electronic tag containing PCB/electronics is not necessarily compostable or biodegradable.
Why it matters
A different power architecture enables a different physical device.
For short-life and single-use connected electronics, a thin biofuel cell can avoid the rigid geometry and end-of-life burden associated with conventional miniature batteries. BeFC publicly identifies healthcare, wearables, smart logistics and other low-power connected products as target applications.
Thin and flexible energy architecture suited to labels, patches and smart packaging.
Metal-free paper biofuel-cell chemistry based primarily on cellulose, carbon, enzymes and biofuel.
Power characteristics aligned with highly duty-cycled ultra-low-power sensing and wireless electronics.
Proposed BioVerity integration
Power that can travel with the sample.
Within the proposed BioVerity architecture, the BeFC biofuel cell is the thin energy layer. The design objective is to combine that energy source with ultra-low-power ONiO electronics and BioVerity firmware so sensing, local storage and opportunistic communications can be incorporated into a label-like form factor attached to the individual vial, sample, package or wearable.
The BioVerity implementation, operating life, power budget, activation method and final mechanical configuration remain subject to engineering and application-specific validation.
BeFC roleThin, flexible micro-energy source for ultra-low-power electronics
BioVerity roleCustom device firmware, communications behaviour and endpoint record reconstruction
Technology relationship: BeFC and ONiO publicly announced a strategic partnership in November 2025 to co-develop battery-free reference designs including temperature patches and cold-chain trackers. BioVerity's use of these technologies is described here as the proposed BioVerity system architecture and should not be read as a claim that BeFC has validated or endorsed the final BioVerity product.