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The E-Kaia device claims to be able to harvest electricity released into soil by small plants. Here's a Daily Mail article describing it.

And because not all of the electrons are needed, harvesting them doesn't impact the plant.

According to E-Kaia, the technology can output up to five volts at around 600 milliamps, and this can charge a phone in around an hour and a half.

Is this possible - does it actually charge in an hour and a half, and can electricity actually be produced from a pot plant?

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Matt Lyons-Wood
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  • (Clarification: USB B; USB C does support more than 500mA) – John Dvorak Oct 25 '15 at 12:13
  • @JanDvorak I believe it is 3.3, although USB is 5V. A USB port is 0.5 by standard I believe. You can get more from a wall usb socket tho. – Tim Oct 25 '15 at 12:35
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    [this rather small battery](http://www.amazon.com/LG-EAC61638202-Battery-Cosmos-Non-Retail/dp/B00DTRHDTM/ref=sr_1_1?s=wireless&ie=UTF8&qid=1445780193&sr=1-1&refinements=p_n_feature_keywords_three_browse-bin%3A9244157011) has 900 mAh at 3.7V (making 1.5h * 5V * 600mA plausible) but [this battery](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BW0X892/ref=s9_top_hd_bw_g107_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-2&pf_rd_r=1K9DJ9014ZSMYGWS91K6&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=2125197522&pf_rd_i=7073959011) has 2600 mAh and there much bigger batteries in the same category as well. – John Dvorak Oct 25 '15 at 13:41
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    The more I look at this, it's starting to look less like a scam and more like an emerging piece of technology that the media just did a really poor job of explaining (which is way too common, unfortunately) – John Dvorak Oct 25 '15 at 14:04
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    I assume you mean [potted plant](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potted_plant), not [pot plant](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marijuana). – Reinstate Monica -- notmaynard Nov 06 '15 at 17:44
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    @iamnotmaynard that's correct :) I'm from Australia and 'pot plant' has the same meaning as potted plant (AFAIK). – Matt Lyons-Wood Nov 06 '15 at 21:57
  • Can we delegate this to physics or biology.se where someone authoritative can explain why this is nonsense? – Shadur Jan 02 '16 at 12:54
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    @shadur the explanation is nonsense, but it could still be based on technology based on a reasonable idea. – John Dvorak Jan 02 '16 at 19:03
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    My fear is that this is little more than using soil as a medium for a battery. Ever made a potato battery? It's not the potato that gives the energy. The potato is only a buffer. See also: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemon_battery – JayC Jan 09 '16 at 01:28
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    Oops, I see the linked Daily Mail page briefly describes such a soil-based battery: the Daniel cell. – JayC Jan 09 '16 at 01:40
  • I can't write a proper answer at the level skeptics require, but here is a source: E-kaya was a semifinalist at 2014's Harvard International Business Model Competition. [ref](http://www.businessmodelcompetition.com/past-winners.html). – Mindwin Remember Monica Mar 29 '17 at 20:48
  • I suspect they are simply utilizing the soil redox potential. – Roland Mar 30 '17 at 10:37
  • Well, it's 2019 and there's no information about the status of the tech. .3A at 5V seems highly unrealistic for a potted plant. There's no description of the mechanism to be found. I believe that the ratings reported by media were exaggerated, and I think other's are right in saying this is just a potato battery. – Tomáš Zato Sep 03 '19 at 10:03

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