This microorganism widely used in biological research has been demonstrated previously to generate electricity through an extracellular electron transfer (EET) process. The new bioengineering method reported in Joule results in enhanced bacterial EET without the need for specific chemical inputs. These microbes can produce power while metabolizing a variety of organic substrates.

A complete EET pathway within E. coli was achieved by integrating a protein complex found in the outer membranes of Shewanella oneidensis MR-1, an electricity-generating bacterium. This inclusion resulted in a three-fold increase in E. coli electrical current generation compared to conventional strategies. When tested with a brewery wastewater, the bioengineered electric bacteria survived and flourished where other bacterial strains did not.

The engineered E. coli can find use in the bioremediation of wastewater or as the basis for microbial fuel cells for other applications.