Ioannis Ieropoulos is the Professor of Bioenergy and Self-Sustainable Systems and Director of the Bristol BioEnergy Centre, at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory, University of West England. He focuses on waste utilization and energy autonomy. Professor Ieropoulos produced the EcoBot family of robots, which are powered by microbial fuel cells (MFCs) fed on organic waste, with the latest self-sustainable robot, Row-bot.

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the grantor of the "Urine-tricity/Pee Power" project, which is advancing the MFC technology for Developing World Countries. Pee Power has been used to provide lighting for toilet blocs at schools in Uganda and Kenya. In addition to these installations, the technology can be installed in refugee camps, slums and places where there is no or limited access to an energy source. Pee Power applications are evolving with continuing research. It plans to be proofed on a commercial scale. This clean energy innovation has been featured in leading media outlets including the Economist, BBC Future, Science Daily, Reuters and Washington Post.