Energy harvesting needs comparison platform to progress

Prof Markys Cain from the National Physical Laboratory has published an article on the http://www.newenergyworldnetwork.com/ website in which he discusses the necessity of comparison platforms and international standards for energy harvesting devices. Please refer below for the full interview / article or click this link: http://www.newenergyworldnetwork.com/investor-news/cleantech-features/by-technology-f/energy-storage-f/energy-harvesting-needs-comparison-platform-to-progress.html 

Tiny devices that scavenge wasted energy will boost industry and create a multibillion pound market but to achieve this potential urgent agreement is needed on measurement standards. A new European project has been set up to ensure developers don’t miss out, writes Markys Cain from the National Physical Laboratory (NPL).
Energy harvesting technology is on the up. All round Europe, manufacturers are developing tiny devices to be fitted inside industrial machinery to capture lost heat and reduce energy wastage. While they won’t solve the looming energy crisis, they will make everyday and industrial processes more efficient and as demand increases and new markets open up, their production could deliver economic growth across the continent.
Already trials have shown thermoelectric generators fitted to heavy duty lorries deliver significant savings overtime, while buildings fitted with batteryless light switches, occupancy sensors and daylight sensors can expect 40 per cent savings on lighting costs.
And the future looks even brighter. Analysts have forecast multi-billion pound market growth over the next decade and a whole range of new applications. An IDTechEx report predicted the global market would grow from $605m in 2010 to $4.4bn by 2020.
While these numbers are impressive, there are important considerations to be made. Talk to developers and investors in the energy harvesting community and there is one major part of the jigsaw missing – an agreed set of measurement standards to gauge potential savings and compare efficiency.
The lack of internationally recognised standards prevents the accurate prediction of improved efficiency provided by these devices under different operating conditions. Without this key information, developers are unable to provide meaningful product specifications for commercially available energy harvesting devices and potential markets are forced to buy the products and conduct their own trials – often at great expense and time.
While Europe is currently a world leader in this technology and best placed to take full commercial advantage of its benefits, other regions are catching up and the lack of dialogue between closed pockets of researchers and engineers is threatening our position.
It is in this context that the Metrology for Energy Harvesting project was set up last year. Made up of seven European national measurement institutes (NMIs) including the UK’s National Physical Laboratory, where I work, it aims to develop ‘traceable’ (traced back to national standards) measurement methods that reduce duplication and accelerate innovation and competitiveness in energy harvesting.
Within the first year of the project, we have already developed measuring systems for quantifying the electric potential within thermoelectric materials across different temperatures. There are many of these materials, which convert temperature differences into electric potential, available on the market, so at the NPL, we have built a system for characterising and comparing the efficiency of each. For piezoelectric harvesting devices, which convert mechanical strain into electric output, the project has developed models to predict power output based on the initial force applied.
The project has also developed an ever expanding industry base of support. This group comprises over 30 companies from across Europe involved in construction, automotive, transport, mobile communication, and sensors and instrumentation further highlighting the wide range of uses of energy harvesting devices. Major names such as Fiat, French electronics company Thales and UK-based Perpetuum, a leader in vibration energy harvesting, are helping focus our direction and inform the development of new standards.
The viability and cost effectiveness of energy harvesting is widely appreciated. However, there is also recognition that to take energy harvesting further and fulfil its market potential, there must be a platform for comparing products in various environments before buying them.
This is where the Metrology for Energy Harvesting project will deliver tangible benefits. The project is helping metrology fill the gap of standardisation, taking into account perspectives from manufacturers, integrators as well as end-users, by defining measurement conditions and qualifying systems and harvesting environments.
With input from both academics and commercial investors and developers of this technology we are helping put the consumers mind at ease and stimulate market growth that will take this technology from small, private solutions, to major industries that will benefit Europe as a whole. The UK and its European neighbours are currently the world leaders in energy harvesting R&D. This project will help maintain this position and improve the transfer of this expertise into commercial benefit.
Prof Markys Cain is knowledge leader at NPL. To find out more about the Metrology for Energy Harvesting project please contact markys.cain@npl.co.uk
The Metrology for Energy Harvesting project is funded by the European Metrology Research Programme and national metrology research programmes.