Scientists have learned to reprogram viruses as nanoscale construction crews that “grow” battery parts in water at room temperature. Engineered M13 bacteriophages (which infect bacteria, not people) and plant viruses like tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) act as scaffolds that self‑assemble metal‑oxide nanowires and porous films for battery electrodes. This can raise surface area, speed ions, and enable gentler, “greener” manufacturing. The field is real—pioneered at MIT and the University of Maryland—and it’s still mostly in the lab, with fresh research continuing into 2025 (especially for next‑gen chemistries like Li‑O₂). American Chemical Society Publications
What does it mean to “use a virus to make a battery”?
Think of a virus as a programmable, nanoscale rod. By tweaking its genes, scientists decorate the virus’s coat proteins with short peptides that latch onto specific ions (e.g., cobalt, iron, manganese, nickel). Dip those viruses into a water‑based solution of the chosen metal, and the peptides nucleate and grow an inorganic shell—forming nanowires or porous networks that become battery electrodes. The whole process happens in water at or below room temperature, avoiding the harsh solvents and high heat common in electrode manufacture. Science
“How do you go from a DNA sequence to a functioning battery?” MIT’s Angela Belcher asked in a 2023 talk, describing how her lab engineers phage to grab carbon nanotubes and then fill in with cathode or anode material. MIT News
Meet the two “workhorse” viruses
- M13 bacteriophage (phage) — a spaghetti‑thin filament that infects bacteria, harmless to humans, and easy to re‑engineer. Belcher’s team at MIT used it to grow cobalt‑oxide and iron‑phosphate nanowires and wire them to carbon nanotubes for faster electron transport. In 2009 they built a coin cell that powered an LED. Science
“The viruses are a common bacteriophage, which infect bacteria but are harmless to humans.” (MIT News, 2009). MIT News
- Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) — a rigid plant virus used to stand nanorods upright on a current collector, then coat them with nickel or active materials (e.g., silicon) to make high‑surface‑area microbattery electrodes; early studies more than doubled Ni–Zn electrode capacity. PubMed
“The resulting batteries are a leap forward in many ways,” said UMD’s Reza Ghodssi when his team showed TMV‑templated microbattery components. eng.umd.edu
How it actually helps a battery
- Surface area & porosity: Viral scaffolds create forests of nanowires and hierarchical pores, letting more ions react at once—a route to higher capacity and better rate performance. (Examples: Co₃O₄ nanowires via M13; Ni/NiO hierarchical electrodes via TMV.) Science
- Shorter ion & electron paths: Phage can “wire” active particles to carbon nanotubes or graphene, boosting conductivity across the electrode. MIT News
- Gentler manufacturing: Because self‑assembly happens in aqueous solutions at low temperature, it potentially reduces toxic solvents and energy use relative to conventional slurry‑coating routes. MIT News
- Material agility: By changing peptide sequences, researchers can get viruses to bind different chemistries (iron phosphate, cobalt oxide, manganese oxides, bismuth oxyfluoride, silicon, nickel phosphides). Chemical Society Publications
Using viruses to create highly ordered electrode structures to shorten ion paths could boost charge speeds—“one of the ‘holy grails’ of energy storage,” says Paul Braun. WIRED
Evidence & milestones (selected)
- 2006 (Science): First virus‑enabled cobalt‑oxide nanowires for Li‑ion electrodes; introduced the idea of gold–cobalt hybrid nanowires to improve capacity. Science
- 2008 (PNAS): Stamped microbattery electrodes built from self‑assembled M13 nanowire layers; fully functional microbattery arrays. PNAS
- 2009 (MIT News): Viruses built both anode and cathode of a Li‑ion coin cell and powered an LED; the approach matched state‑of‑the‑art cells at the time while using room‑temperature, water‑based synthesis. MIT News
- 2012 (Small / PMC): Graphene sheets stabilized on M13 to host bismuth oxyfluoride (a hybrid energy‑storage material). PubMed Central
- 2013 (Nature Communications): Biologically assembled manganese‑oxide nanocatalysts improved Li–O₂ cathodes (higher capacity, better cycling). Nature
- 2014 (Nano Letters): M13‑directed mixed metal‑oxide nanowires as high‑capacity Li–O₂ electrodes. American Chemical Society Publications
- 2016 (Electrochimica Acta): TMV‑templated hierarchical Ni/NiO electrodes with strong charge‑storage performance. umdmsal.com
- 2019–2021: Virus‑templated Ni₅P₄ nanofoams and M13‑templated MnO₂/Ru nanowires explored for microbatteries and Li–O₂ cathodes (target: reduce parasitic reactions). ResearchGate
What’s new (2023–2025)?
- Belcher’s program keeps evolving. In 2023 she showcased the lab’s method of going from DNA sequence to battery electrodes in the annual Dresselhaus Lecture, highlighting phage that wrap CNTs and template electrode materials. MIT News
- Recognition of the field. In January 2025, Belcher received a U.S. National Medal of Science for designing novel materials spanning batteries, solar, and imaging—a nod to two decades of virus‑templated materials innovation. MIT News
- 2025 coverage & reviews. MIT.nano (Sept. 2025) revisited “batteries built by viruses,” and new reviews map microorganism‑derived electrocatalysts (including viruses as templates) for energy devices—an indicator of ongoing momentum, especially in catalysis‑heavy chemistries like Li–O₂. mitnano.mit.edu
- Related energy devices: Beyond batteries, M13 has been tuned to generate electricity under heat (piezo/pyro‑like effects), showing the broader energy nanosystems potential of virus‑based materials (Nov 2023). The Scientist
In 2009, MIT reported the virus‑built coin cell’s “same energy capacity and power performance” as then state‑of‑the‑art rechargeables—assembled by greener routes. MIT News
Step‑by‑step: From phage to functional electrode
- Pick a target material & peptide: Use phage display to select peptides that bind metal ions (e.g., Co²⁺, Fe²⁺/³⁺, Mn²⁺). Engineer M13 to present thousands of these peptides on its coat. Science
- Grow the inorganic: Incubate viruses in aqueous precursor solutions to mineralize a metal‑oxide shell (e.g., Co₃O₄, FePO₄, MnOₓ) along each viral filament—creating nanowires. Science
- Add wiring: Integrate carbon nanotubes or graphene so the nanowires are electrically percolated across the electrode. MIT News
- Assemble the electrode: Deposit the virus‑grown network onto a current collector; for TMV, stand rods upright like a nano‑“brush” to maximize area. Purdue Engineering
- Build the cell and test: Coin cells or microbattery arrays then undergo cycling to evaluate capacity, rate, and durability. PNAS
Where viruses shine (and where they struggle)
Upsides
- Green(er) processing: Water‑based, low‑temperature assembly cuts solvents and thermal budgets. MIT News
- Control at the nano‑scale: Genetic programmability lets you “ask” a virus to bind different elements and assemble order from chaos. WIRED
- Architected porosity: Viral rods can align and pack to form ion highways (faster charge/discharge). Nature
Challenges
- Scaling & cost: Making tons of virus‑templated nanomaterials with industrial consistency is non‑trivial; experts cite scalability as a key barrier. WIRED
- Long‑term stability: Some virus‑assembled Li–O₂ cathodes still face parasitic reactions; researchers are moving to carbon‑free, virus‑templated catalysts to mitigate side chemistry. ScienceDirect
- Market timing: No mainstream phones or EVs use virus‑built electrodes (yet); the most compelling gains today are in microbatteries and advanced chemistries that benefit from nanoscale structuring. PNAS
Safety, ethics & biosafety
- The viruses used (M13, TMV) do not infect humans. TMV is made inert in the finished device; M13 infects only bacteria. MIT News
- Manufacturing resembles biotech fermentation (phage grown in bacterial cultures or TMV in plants), followed by mineralization steps; studies have scaled from liters to thousands of liters for related virus‑based materials. MIT News
Notable expert voices
- Angela Belcher (MIT): “We’ve been engineering biology to control nanomaterials that are not normally grown biologically.” WIRED
- Paul Braun (UIUC): Shorter ion paths via virus‑built order could improve charge rates—“one of the ‘holy grails’ of energy storage.” WIRED
- Reza Ghodssi (UMD): TMV‑enabled batteries are “a leap forward in many ways,” ideal for tiny, high‑performance microsystems. eng.umd.edu
Frequently asked questions
Can a “virus battery” infect me?
No. Researchers use bacteriophages (infect bacteria) or plant viruses; finished electrodes are inert and non‑infectious. MIT News
Is any company selling virus‑assembled batteries today?
No consumer products yet. Related viral‑assembly know‑how has reached industry (e.g., Cambrios for nanowire films; Siluria for catalysis), but batteries remain pre‑commercial. WIRED
Where might it land first?
Likely in microbatteries (sensors, wearables), or catalysis‑limited chemistries like Li–O₂, where viral scaffolds offer order and reactivity conventional inks struggle to match. PNAS
Deeper reading and key sources
- Foundational demonstrations (MIT):
- Virus‑enabled nanowires for Li‑ion electrodes (Science, 2006). Science
- M13 builds both electrodes; LED‑powered coin cell; green, aqueous processing (MIT News, 2009). MIT News
- “The next generation of batteries could be built by viruses” (MIT.nano, 2025 overview). mitnano.mit.edu
- Microbatteries & TMV (UMD, Purdue):
- Capacity more than doubled in Ni–Zn with virus‑assembled electrodes (Royston et al., 2008). PubMed
- TMV‑templated Ni/NiO hierarchical electrodes (2016). umdmsal.com
- UMD explainer and quotes on TMV forests and silicon/TiO₂ shells (2010). eng.umd.edu
- Beyond Li‑ion: Li–O₂ and hybrids (2013–2022):
- M13‑assembled nanocatalysts improve Li–O₂ capacity & cycling (Nat. Commun., 2013). Nature
- Virus‑directed mixed‑oxide nanowires for Li–O₂ (Nano Lett., 2014). American Chemical Society Publications
- Virus‑templated MnO₂/Ru cathodes to curb side reactions (J. Power Sources, 2021). ScienceDirect
- Popular‑science & synthesis:
- WIRED feature on viral batteries with expert quotes (2020). WIRED
Bottom line
Viruses don’t just cause disease—they can organize matter. By co‑opting that talent, researchers are “growing” battery electrodes with finely tuned architectures that are hard to achieve otherwise, and doing it in water at room temperature. The promise (more capacity, faster charging, cleaner manufacturing) is compelling. The caveat is scale: turning milligrams into tons reliably and cheaply remains the main hurdle. As research in viral templating and bio‑manufacturing advances, expect early adoption in micro‑ and specialty batteries, and continued exploration in next‑gen chemistries where nanoscale structure is destiny. MIT News
