Force Multiplier Actuated Piezoelectric Energy Harvester for Roadway Energy Recovery
Demonstrating a system that can harvest energy from vehicles on California roadways.
Pyro-E, LLC
Recipient
Downey, CA
Recipient Location
30th
Senate District
64th
Assembly District
$1,000,000
Amount Spent
Completed
Project Status
Project Result
The project is completed.
The work done under this projected included: the basic design and prototype for the vibrational energy harvester; the power circuit design and fabrication; the testing and evaluation of the performance and reliability; and the field testing for assessing the performance and potential ratepayer benefits under relevant roadway conditions.
The Issue
Roadways are locations of tremendous energy consumption and transformation, but also hold potential to generate energy. One approach for making existing roadways more energy sustainable is through regenerative energy devices such as piezoelectric devices that have the ability to harvest energy from deflection, vibrations, and applied mechanical stresses from overpassing vehicles.
Project Innovation
The project develops, designs, and installs a multitude of pavement-embedded devices to demonstrate energy harvesting from overpassing motor vehicles on the road in smart pavement covering 36 feet x 6 feet. The system consists of materials that exhibit the piezoelectric effect, generating an electric charge.
Project Benefits
The project demonstrates and assesses the potential of regenerative pavement technology, a roadway-embedded energy harvester that uses the untapped energy of car movements. The hardware devices developed using smart materials harvest energy from pavement deflections and vibrations under normal driving conditions. Energy performance data is collected to determine the technology's potential for widescale adoption in roadways and other surfaces.
Economic Development
Expected to displace a fraction of grid electricity with rate reductions of about 80% from the central grid. Retrofitting 1% of useable roadways (10% of total CA roads) could be about $260 per household in annual energy savings.
Environmental Sustainability
By retrofitting 1% of useable roadways (10% of total CA roads) with piezoelectrics, the environmental benefits include the reduction of about 1.2 kilotons of CO2 emissions and 16.8 million gallons of fresh water savings per year.
Key Project Members
Kevin Lu
Subrecipients
Prospect Silicon Valley
Intertek Testing Services, NA, Inc.
Wattis Construction Company
Match Partners
Pyro-E, LLC
