A recent report from Frost & Sullivan, a corporate consultancy and research firm, suggests that the rising cost and growing waste production from heavy battery use may lead to a more widespread push for energy harvesting technologies. Energy harvesting is the practice of harnessing ambient, renewable energy sources in order to generate power, such as electricity. Some common forms of energy harvesting include harvesting solar energy through photovoltaic cells (solar panels).
Now, a technical ceramics company in the UK is working with Glyndwr University in Wales to create an energy harvesting system. The 26 week Shorter Knowledge Partnership (sKTP)'s goal is to create a working demonstration unit that uses piezoelectric ceramics to develop more energy efficient energy harvesters. They hope to use piezoelectric materials as a means to improve the rather poor efficiency of existing energy harvesting technology. For instance, solar power generally operates at a 12% efficiency. It would be quite a coup for the ceramics industry if it could enter heavily into the energy harvesting field.
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