Dutch designer Ermi van Oers has created a lamp that uses a living plant to generate its own electricity – and plans to scale up the technology to power entire smart cities. Presented at Dutch Design Week, the Living Light uses microorganisms to convert the chemical energy it naturally produces during photosynthesis into an electric current. Dutch designer Ermi Van Oers designed the lamp to function as its own self-sufficient ecosystem, which creates renewable energy instead of relying on coal power stations. She has already began to apply the technology – known as microbial energy – to public spaces, and