A European research team involving Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH) and Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY has developed a novel way for converting mechanical energy into electricity—by using water confined in nanometer-sized pores of silicon as the active working fluid.

In a study published in Nano Energy, scientists from CIC energiGUNE (Spain), the University of Ferrara (Italy), the Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH) and DESY (Germany), the University of Silesia in Katowice (Poland), and Riga Technical University (Latvia), demonstrate that the cyclic intrusion and extrusion of water in water-repellent nanoporous silicon monoliths can produce measurable electrical power.