BeFC, a leading pioneer in metal-free, paper-based biofuel cell technology, and ONiO, the creators of the world’s lowest-power microcontroller, ONiO.zero, announced a strategic partnership to accelerate sustainable next-generation smart devices across healthcare, logistics, smart packaging, environmental sensing, and defense.

Together, the two companies are co-developing turnkey reference designs, such as glucose monitors, temperature patches, and cold-chain trackers, enabling manufacturers to build thin, disposable, and fully untethered IoT products that meet stringent regulatory and environmental requirements.

ONiO.zero brings sensing, processing, data logging, and wireless communication together in one ultra-efficient chip. This unified design allows all system functions to work together with very low energy use, delivering performance that is difficult to achieve with traditional multi-component solutions.

BeFC’s recyclable, metal-free biofuel cells complement this architecture with a clean, ultra-low-impact power source capable of running devices from minutes to months, depending on the use case. Together, they create a highly efficient foundation for battery-free smart electronics.

“The partnership between BeFC and ONiO brings together cost competitiveness, performance, advanced features, and the sustainability credentials the industry increasingly expects,” says Dr. Jules Hammond, CTO and co-founder of BeFC.

A Pathway to Fully Sustainable Smart Devices

The collaboration supports a shared goal: reducing reliance on lithium-based and coin-cell batteries in high-volume, regulated markets. By combining ONiO.zero’s ultra-low-power microcontroller with BeFC’s metal-free paper-based energy source, the partnership aims to make large-scale deployment of eco-designed electronics practical across medical diagnostics, pharmaceutical logistics, and smart packaging.

Core objectives of the partnership include:

• Enable battery-free sensing devices for healthcare, logistics, smart packaging, and environmental monitoring without compromising performance or communication reliability.

• Deliver turnkey reference designs for high-volume applications, giving manufacturers a rapid path to commercialization.

• Offer a scalable alternative to toxic coin-cell batteries, supporting compliance with emerging environmental regulations.

• Demonstrate a sustainable system architecture for next-generation electronics, designed for recyclability, circularity, and broad market adoption.

“We are delighted to be working with industry leaders like BeFC, who are at the forefront of renewable and sustainable energy technologies. ONiO.zero and BeFC’s paper-based fuel cell are a natural fit. Together, they unlock applications that were previously impossible without primary batteries or significant cost penalties,” adds Vemund Bakken, CTO and co-founder, OniO.

How the Technologies Work Together

BeFC provides clean, metal-free micro-energy. ONiO.zero provides the sensing, processing, and wireless communication. Because ONiO.zero operates on extremely low power, a single BeFC paper-based fuel cell can support devices for months instead of days, enabling continuous monitoring and dependable data transmission.

The result is a complementary platform that makes practical battery-free electronics possible across a wide range of applications.