'A revolutionary type of personal power pack now in development could help our troops when they are engaged on the battlefield.
With the aim of being up to fifty per cent lighter than conventional chemical battery packs used by British infantry, the solar and thermoelectric-powered system could make an important contribution to future military operations.
The project is being developed by the University of Glasgow with Loughborough, Strathclyde, Leeds, Reading and Brunel Universities, with funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). It is also supported by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl).
The system’s innovative combination of solar photovoltaic (PV) cells, thermoelectric devices and leading-edge energy storage technology will provide a reliable power supply round-the-clock, just like a normal battery pack. The team is also investigating ways of managing, storing and utilising heat produced by the system.'
The technology being developed harnesses the energy harvesting thermoelectrics - one of the materials being developed and characterised in the EMRP Energy Harvesting project. The application for the smart soldier highlights one of the key benefits of energy harvesting technologies - that being the supply of power locally where it is needed. The efficiency and cost effectiveness of this type of application will be dependent on materials advances, systems engineering and weight savings (less battery packs). I will follow the development of this project with interest.
2 comments:
It's no mystery that traditional forms of energy leave behind lots of pollution and hurt the earth's environment. When you use solar power to heat your home, you cut back significantly on all forms of pollution.
Good point!
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