5. Outlook and developments

At present, the investment costs of bacterial cell technology limit its economic appeal and deployment. The development of low-cost, high-performance electrode materials and ion exchange membranes is one of the key factors in the large-scale deployment of this technology. Current developments are focused on new bio-based materials with low production costs and a low carbon footprint. Biochar appears to be an interesting solution to explore in the development of electrodes for bacterial cells. This material is a by-product of the pyrolysis of various biomass residues (agricultural and forestry waste, municipal solid waste, etc.), obtained at the same time as biofuel with a negative carbon footprint