Energy harvesting alternative to batteries
According to a new report from Frost & Sullivan, 'Advances in Energy Harvesting Technologies', the need to minimise maintenance and replacement costs of battery-powered applications is driving the development of energy harvesting technologies that bind renewable and ambient sources of energy.
Energy harvesting technologies such as piezoelectric, thermoelectric and others will have potential applications in wireless sensor networks and low-power devices.
Arvind Sankaran, a technical insights research analyst at Frost & Sullivan, comments: "Although micro-level energy harvesting technologies are very new compared to batteries, they can initially be used to recharge batteries and gradually replace them as self-sufficient devices.
“By replacing batteries, these devices eliminate toxic waste from disposed batteries and provide the perfect solution to many countries that are implementing stringent rules to monitor power consumption and environmental waste."
As energy harvesting technologies harness ambient and renewable sources of energy, growing awareness among consumers to use environmental friendly technology further strengthens demand.
Kasthuri Jagadeesan, a research analyst, adds: "Low output power and below-par efficiency of energy harvesting systems currently limit the application scope of energy harvesting technology. It faces difficulty in penetrating the market as it is still in the early prototyping or early commercialization stage, as opposed to battery technology, which is well established."
Along with developments in materials and control electronics, researchers and manufacturers are concentrating their efforts on the exploration of various kinds of energy sources and improving the performance characteristics. Starting with low-power sensor applications, they can be gradually used to power portable devices and utilised in buildings for lighting and temperature control. Additionally, improvements in energy harvesting technologies would enable these devices to provide reliable and constant power for industrial, automotive, aerospace, defence and medical applications.
Sankaran states: "Apart from the development of sophisticated control electronics and materials research, optimising manufacturing techniques and costs can also aid in making the technology cost-effective."
Many academic institutions and companies are actively working to advance the technology by tackling various challenges. Some technologies are in the product development stage, while others are on the verge of commercialisation. Harvesting of solar energy is an example of a well-developed technology that has influenced the development of photovoltaic cells for low-power electronic devices. Other energy harvesting technologies such as electrodynamic, electrostatic and electro-active polymers are under investigation.
Although the future looks promising for these emerging eco-friendly energy harvesting technologies, their acceptance in the market depends on many factors such as performance, consumer awareness of harnessing ambient energy, funding for research and development, and collaboration between manufacturers and technology developers. Energy harvesting technology will be able to establish itself in the market place on dealing with most of these aspects.
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