Look at a chicken feather, and what you’re seeing is 91% keratin. Now a team of scientists have found a way to repurpose this abundant agricultural byproduct—and in a surprise move, they’ve used it to make renewable energy.

The scale of the global poultry industry is such that it produces 6 billion tons of chicken feathers each year, most of which are tossed aside. The problem isn’t just the waste, but the impact it goes on to have: an estimated 40 million tons of these waste feathers are burned annually, spewing out sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide in the process.

Meanwhile, keratin is actually an incredible useful ingredient in so many industries, from medicine to packaging. But the researchers on the new study set their targets on green energy for the wasted feather flurry.

When the researchers tested it out, it was a feather-fuelled success: the fuel cell was able to convert hydrogen and oxygen into electricity, with proof in the fact that it powered two LED lamps. In further testing, it drove a motor-powered fan and a toy car. Aside from electricity, the fuel cell’s only byproduct was water.

Mezzenga says he’s excited about “the clear demonstration that food waste, currently ending up in incineration or in the very best scenario—some sort of animal feed, can be converted into membranes for the generation of clean electric energy.”

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