INTRODUCTION
When it rains in New York, the city floods not just with water, but with missed opportunities.
Each storm sends billions of gallons rushing through the city’s combined sewer system, overwhelming its capacity and forcing untreated sewage into surrounding rivers and neighbourhoods. The issue is more than infrastructure strain; it’s a growing flood crisis compounded by climate change and outdated design. At the same time, the city generates an abundance of wastewater that is largely seen as waste rather than a potential asset.
But what if we flipped the script? What if flooding and wastewater weren’t just problems to manage but resources to power a new kind of urban resilience?
Untreated sewage water
Bacteria as Engineers: The Promise of Microbial Fuel Cells
Microbial Fuel Cells, or MFCs, are a nature-based technology that uses bacteria in wastewater to generate electricity.
Microbial Fuel Cell Chambers
As these microbes digest organic matter, they release electrons a natural biological process that can be harnessed to produce clean energy. Even better, MFCs also purify the water while generating electricity.
Imagine a living, breathing battery hidden inside the city’s sewer system.
Our team is proposing to install MFC systems midstream intercepting flow before it reaches treatment plants. These embedded systems could power real-time water quality sensors that monitor Chemical Oxygen Demand, nitrate levels, and other critical indicators. All of this would be self-powered by the bacteria already in the waste.
Process of harnessing MFC
Barriers to Deployment: Why Good Ideas Struggle Underground
four key reasons why it’s hard to bring Microbial Fuel Cells into New York City’s sewer system
Even the smartest solutions face real-world challenges. This graphic highlights four key reasons why it’s hard to bring Microbial Fuel Cells into New York City’s sewer system. First, the underground network is old, crowded, and difficult to work with. Second, access to maps and flow data is limited, making planning difficult. Third, many parts of the system are hard to reach safely. And finally, new solutions like this need teamwork from city departments, engineers, and local communities. To make real change, we have to work together from the ground up.
In a city built on ambition, it’s time to reimagine what lies beneath.
What if the same wastewater that floods our streets could light our sensors, feed our gardens, and warn us before the next crisis hits? Microbial Fuel Cells remind us that resilience doesn’t always come from concrete and steel; it can come from biology, circular thinking, and the will to innovate. The pipes may be hidden, but the opportunity is right in front of us.
Let’s not just manage the overflow. Let’s turn it into power.
Business Model Canvas: MFC Urban Infrastructure
Who we are as a team
We are a multidisciplinary team of researchers, designers, and urban problem-solvers passionate about circular water innovation and climate-resilient infrastructure. This project was born at the intersection of science, sustainability, and social equity.
NGDA Team from South Africa
Our backgrounds span chemical engineering, digital technology, urban design, and development studies giving us a unique lens to rethink how cities manage water, waste, and energy. What unites us is a shared belief: that even the most overlooked systems, like wastewater, can become engines of transformation when reimagined through the right lens.
We’re not just developing prototypes we’re building partnerships. From local communities to global cities, our goal is to co-create smarter, greener, and more inclusive infrastructure from the underground up.
Did You Know?
Your rainwater tank could power your home garden sensors.
Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) aren’t just for city sewers—they can work right in your backyard. When paired with a Smart Rainwater Harvesting system, MFCs can convert the organic matter naturally present in stored rainwater into small amounts of electricity. This energy is enough to power humidity sensors, pH monitors, or smart irrigation systems, helping you manage your garden or rooftop farm more efficiently.
MFC Smart Rainwater Harvesting System
Instead of relying on batteries or grid power, you’re turning captured rain and everyday microbes into a self-sustaining, circular system—where water reuse, energy recovery, and food production work together.
Small scale. Big impact.
That’s circular living, made simple.