--- title: "Scientists Say You Could Charge Batteries Using Humidity" description: "Researchers from Tel Aviv University have found that water vapor in the atmosphere has the potential to become a viable source of renewable energy." date: "2020-06-10" modified: "2020-06-10" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/generate-electricity-humidity" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "batteries" - "electric energy" - "Humidity" --- # Scientists Say You Could Charge Batteries Using Humidity ![Researchers from Tel Aviv University have found that water vapor in the atmosphere has the potential to become a viable source of renewable energy.]() *\Image: Victor Tangermann\* Researchers from Tel Aviv University [have found]() that water vapor in the atmosphere has the potential to become a viable source of renewable energy. So far, the voltage generated in their experiments is extremely low. But if it scales up, they say the phenomenon could be used to charge batteries. "If an AA battery is 1.5V, there may be a practical application in the future: to develop batteries that can be charged from water vapor in the air," Colin Price, researcher at Tel Aviv University's Porter School of the Environment and Earth Sciences and co-author of [a paper]() about the research published in the journal *Nature* last month, said in [a statement](). The basic natural phenomenon behind their discovery is why lightning occurs in nature. "Electricity in thunderstorms is generated only by water in its different phases — water vapor, water droplets, and ice," Price said. "Twenty minutes of cloud development is how we get from water droplets to huge electric discharges — lightning — some half a mile in length," he added. Scientific discoveries dating back a hundred years found that water droplets in the air could charge metal surfaces. In their research, the Tel Aviv scientists honed in on that phenomenon and found that voltage only developed when relative humidity in the air rose above 60 percent — atmospheric conditions that are extremely commonplace across the globe. They found that materials such as zinc and stainless steel acquired a charge of about one volt. "Water is a very special molecule," Price said. "During molecular collisions, it can transfer an electrical charge from one molecule to the other. Through friction, it can build up a kind of static electricity." The charge harvested from the humidity in the air could eventually be used as a green energy source, he suspects. The researchers say the technology could be impactful in developing countries where many communities don't have regular access to electricity, but humidity is high. **READ MORE:** [Water vapor in the atmosphere may be prime renewable energy source]() \[American Friends of Tel Aviv University\] **More on batteries:** *[This “Quantum Battery” Never Loses Its Charge]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()