Most of us don’t think twice about where our power comes from when we flip a switch to turn on the lights or plug in our electronic devices to charge. With our ever-increasing reliance on electricity to power our modern comforts, the task of improving the efficiency of electricity generation, the responsiveness of power grids to changing demands, and the system resiliency in the face of unexpected disruptions is crucial. Furthermore, outages in the traditional US power grid—made up of the Eastern, Western, and Texas power grids—are estimated to cost businesses upward of $150 billion a year.1 Recent global trends toward upgrading to a predictive smart grid system and the rising popularity of renewable energy hold immense space for innovation.
Luckily, in addition to already established mechanisms of energy generation, another source of inspiration can potentially help engineer improved electrical grids: nature. Living systems have developed over eons of...
