Energy harvesting - a $4+ billion industry by 202
Post# of 22456
There is energy all around us that can be harnessed to generate usable electricity at negligible cost. There are many examples of research and pilot projects working right now developing these innovative ideas. These ideas are not ones most people would envision. Each one of these paragraphs will be expanded in more detail in the future.
One of the main drawbacks hindering development is cost-effectiveness due to low-efficiency materials. Mass-production of efficient energy-producing quantum dots can make many of these projects feasible. Quantum Materials Corp can joint venture or license with leading manufacturers that have viable, marketable products needing cost-certain and availability-certain quantum dot supply.
Clothing – Thermal heat generated by the body, or Sound Waves absorbed by a film on a shirt can be transformed to generate electrical energy. The pressure generated by jogging in shoe soles, or the action of walking could be made into electricity with the same energy that causes a pedometer to count the steps you make.
Automotive – Besides placing solar films on vehicles, the rotation of tires can power generators, as can brakes when the car is stopping. Hybrid cars are already using some of these ideas.
Microelectronics – Intel has adapted microprocessors and ICs for ultra-low power use so that small solar cells can power them. When I researched these areas years ago, there were only hundreds of companies developing products, now I imagine there are thousands of companies developing controllers, energy-harvesters that absorb many different types of micro-energy – thermo-, piezo-, light-, motion-, etc. Some use just the difference between two different photonic states to generate energy.
Sensors are the ideal application that cuts across all industries. Wireless sensors are currently using many types of energy harvesting to power themselves and the transmission of their information.