Scavenging for energy goes electronic
With relentless growth placing increasing stress on the world's fossil fuel supplies, the need to find alternative and sustainable sources of energy is greater than ever. Among a wide range of alternative energy sources, the field of energy harvesting has emerged as an exciting new possibility and one that companies are eagerly exploring.
Overview
The world's thirst for energy is seemingly unquenchable. According to US Energy Information Administration (EIA), global marketed energy consumption is set to rise by almost 50% by 2035 from the 2007 levels. This will undoubtedly strain the world's energy supplies and could also contribute to social and political unrest worldwide.
As demand continues to outstrip supply, energy costs will inevitably rise. Indeed, energy costs have already risen significantly over the past 20 years, with US retail electricity prices, for example, climbing by 50%. And going forward, this rise is unlikely to be a smooth one, as volatile oil prices have demonstrated in recent years, bouncing between lows near $30 per barrel up to well over $100 in 2008 and again in 2011.
Ultimately, a dependence on fossil fuels is not sustainable, both from a growth and stability perspective and, perhaps more importantly, from an environmental perspective. While finite fossil fuel supplies add urgency to the search for alternative energy sources, many see the environmental impacts of fossil fuel use as being just as important of a motivator. With the vast majority of global pollution coming from the extraction and use of fossil fuels for energy, this viewpoint is both understandable and justified.
The challenge then, is to develop sustainable alternative energy sources that will, at first, be complementary to traditional energy, but may ultimately have to replace it entirely. Work has started on this effort, but much is yet to be done. According to EIA data, less than 25% of the world's electricity is currently sourced from renewable energy sources. To improve this figure will require a great deal of ingenuity, innovation and resources. Yet it is a task that cannot be ignored.
In searching for alternative energy solutions, one area where scientists and companies have found promise is energy harvesting. The aim of energy harvesting is to recover energy that is otherwise wasted; for example, solar energy. Several types of energy harvesting have been in use for several years, including solar, wind and geothermal power. With these areas starting to mature, researchers are turning their attention to the relatively new field of "energy scavenging".
Energy scavenging aims to extract small amounts of energy from ambient sources such radio waves or physical movement. In theory, this approach offers a near ideal solution as it involves generating power from near-ubiquitous sources, albeit in small amounts. Initial progress has been promising, but much more must be done to make the technology more efficient and cost-effective.
Facts on the ground
Alternative energy is by no means a new concept. However, it is one that continues to evolve as innovation and technology open up new possibilities. In terms of track record, a number of alternative energy sources are already in widespread use, including solar, wind and geothermal. However, these are often location dependent, requiring sufficient sunlight, wind or geothermal energy to make them work. This dependency can cause problems, especially when trying to link often remote production locations to the end users.
However, this is not to discount these alternative energy sources completely. Indeed, they have proven to be sustainable and in many cases effective sources of energy. Rather, these issues point to the need for further research into other areas that may be able to fill the gaps. Here is where energy scavenging shows its promise. Drawing its power from ambient energy, be it physical movement, temperature gradients or radio waves, energy scavenging has the potential to be a highly effective and efficient energy source if the required technologies can be further developed.
As a commercial market, the energy scavenging industry shows potential. It is expected to grow strongly in the coming decade to reach US$10 billion by 2019. While this remains but a small share of the mammoth global energy market, it is sufficiently large that many companies have started putting resources towards developing energy scavenging technologies and solutions.
While the basic technologies to extract energy from physical movement, temperature changes and radio waves continue to evolve and improve, a number of companies around the world have pushed ahead ground-breaking commercial applications. These energy scavenging initiatives include work by Japan Eastern Railway to harvest energy from passenger ticket gates, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Crowd Farm project, which aims to harvest energy from human movement in urban settings like commuters in train stations or crowds at a concert.
These efforts are just the leading edge of a wave of R&D, innovation and application in the energy scavenging field. As companies set out their strategies to develop this promising new area, an increasing number are looking to Singapore as an emerging centre for advanced research and developments into energy scavenging.
The Singapore difference
With its growing reputation as a hub for R&D in the region and globally, Singapore continues to attract leading companies from around the world looking to develop, test and roll out advanced new technologies. This holds true for energy scavenging, where several companies and research institutes in Singapore are working on cutting-edge innovations that will take the industry forward.
A*STAR's Institute of Microelectronics (IME) is one example, where researchers have developed a compact CMOS-compatible energy-scavenging device based on polysilicon thermocouples that generates electricity from a temperature gradient. While similar devices exist, the IME's approach has resulted in a 30% increase in efficiency over existing models. With further development, this new technology holds exciting promise as a sustainable, efficient replacement for batteries to power low-energy electronic devices.
For many companies, a concern when selecting a location for R&D is the availability of trained researchers and technicians. Singapore has recognised this and put in place a number of initiatives to address this issue. In order to ensure a ready supply of trained researchers, VIRTUS was launched in October 2010 as a collaboration between A*STAR, NTU and industry. It is an integrated circuit (IC) design centre of excellence focused on analog/mixed signal IC design for power management, energy harvesting and bioelectronics. It aims to train 100 PhD and M.Eng post-graduates in the next 5 years, giving the industry a steady supply of talent.
The initiative has already shown results, with an NTU-led research team under the VIRTUS banner recently announcing the development of the world's smallest on-chip, low-pass filter. The filter, which is 1,000 times smaller than existing off-chip filters, allows low-frequency signals to pass through while reducing unwanted high-frequency signals. This will allow for more compact and efficient chip designs, which can be utilized in areas such as energy harvesting.
As the market for energy harvesting continues to evolve and grow, it is these early developments that will lay the foundation for the future. And Singapore, with its cutting-edge research infrastructure , robust talent pool and business-friendly environment, is set to play host to the companies that will drive the industry forward.
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