Workshop Resources (24 February 2026) V2

Compost Computing Workshop - 24 February 2026

--- Materials list (no need to purchase them for the workshop. For your reference) ---

Soil/Compost-based bio-batteries (microbial fuel cells, for 1 cell)

-Zinc plates  (1 sheet for 1 cell)
-Carbon felt (30 x20 cm sheet, 5mm thick - for 6 cells) OR Graphite ingots (2 pieces for 1 cell)
-Marine-grade stainless wire (one roll is enough for dozens of cells)
-A food-grade plastic container with a lid, stackable (for 1 cell, I use something similar to this)
-Compost (that fills about 3/4 of each cell, preferably without white mineral bits or large solid fragments such as stones)
-Water (1/4 or 1/5 of the container's capacity is probably enough; rainwater/water from pond and canal, etc., would be better than tap water that has chemicals.)

Electrical parts

-A low-power microcontroller, such as Xiao  ESP32-S3 / S3 Sense 
OR even lower powered boards such as Xiao nRF52840 & Xiao MG24 for non-Wifi/BLE applications if you are interested.
-Breadboard wires
-Crocodile clips OR Wago electrical clips (only 2-3 pieces are needed for each cell)
-Multimeter 

 

*If you have the highlighted item, you can emulate the compost-based powering of one of the microcontrollers. The Li-ion capacitor usually comes pre-charged, so you could power a Xiao device with breadboard wires out of the box. The seller is based in the Netherlands, but it may take some time to process shipping.

--- Other Resources ---

Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) building guides

-A Teacher's guide for an education-purpose MFC on the University of Reading website. Explaining how their MFC works, including their electro-biochemical processes.
-How MudWatt Works. An explanation of how an MCF works is provided in a guideline for a science education tool, MudWatt. 
-A DIY guide to build an MFC by TITiPI and Regenerative Energy Communities.

 

Papers on MFCs

-Microbial fuel cells directly powering a microcomputer. The experiment that powered a Game Boy with an MFC stack.
-Microbial Fuel Cell, A Bioelectrochemical System that Converts Waste to Watts. By Debabrata Das. Mentioning different electrode designs and their suitability for MFCs.

 

The workshop and its associated project were co-produced by Shinji Toya and V2_ Lab for the Unstable Media as part of the Microdosing A.I. art and technology residencies.

The microbial fuel cells design, physical computing setup and the resource list above were developed based on a research project by a team from University of the Arts London, More-Than-Human Design Through Critical Climate Computing, funded with support from Arts and Humanities Research Council, the UK.

 

Resources compiled by Shinji Toya