The electrochemical oxidation of glucose has been widely explored, primarily for analytical purposes. The combustion of glucose is also well established to occur. By combining an electrocatalyst for glucose oxidation, as well as an oxygen reduction electrocatalyst, it is possible to assemble air-batteries or fuel cells that can (non-enzymatically) harvest useful electrical energy from glucose. Cellulose is the most abundant biopolymer in the world, is a non-food crop waste material, and is made up on glucose sub-units. By studying the electrocatalytic oxidation of glucose, it is possible to develop electrochemical devices that could use cellulose (and by extension, waste lignocellulosic biomass) as a fuel. All that is required is a suitable electrolyte that can dissolve cellulose (and lignocellulosic biomass). Ionic liquids and certain aqueous hydroxides fulfil these criteria. We have been investigating the oxidation of glucose and cellulose, and developing genuine air-batteries that can exploit these materials. Focus has been upon (i) the electrolyte, which is critical in both solubilising the fuel, and in impacting electrocatalytic trends, (ii) dissolved molecules which can act as facile solution-phase electrocatalytic mediators for the oxidation processes, and (iii) nanostructured electrodes such as nanoporous gold, which can act as electrocatalytic electrodes for the direct oxidation of glucose and cellulose. In particular, it has been ensured that the electrolyte assists in the electrocatalytic processes and encourages depolymerisation of cellulose into glucose, ensuring high power electrochemical devices can be developed. Our progress in this area will be summarised.