Energy harvesting and storage for electronic devices 2011-2021

DUBLIN, IRELAND: Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Energy Harvesting and Storage for Electronic Devices 2011-2021" report to its offering.

Energy harvesting is the use of ambient energy to power small electronic or electrical devices. This report looks at the full range of energy harvesting technologies, covering technical progress, applications, performance criteria still to be met, and ten year forecasts. It covers progress with energy storage devices - such as supercapacitors and batteries. Details of suppliers and universities around the world are given along with appraisal of the market for these devices and opportunities for developers.

Ten year forecasts by application and technology are given. Energy harvesting, otherwise known as power harvesting or energy scavenging, uses ambient energy to power small electronic or electrical devices. That includes photovoltaics, thermovoltaics, piezoelectrics and electrodynamics, among other options, which are now being used in a wide variety of applications.

The technology has reached a tipping point, because the necessary lower power electronics and more efficient energy gathering and storage are now sufficiently affordable, reliable and longer lived for a huge number of applications to be practicable. From wind-up laptops for Africa, wireless light switches working from the power of your finger and wireless sensors in oil fields monitoring equipment power by vibration - these are all in use now with many more applications emerging.

For the first time, this unique report looks at the global situation. It covers the progress of more than 200 organizations in 22 countries and gives detailed case studies. Market forecasts are provided for everything from self-sufficient wristwatches to mobile phones that will never need a charger and light switches and controls that have no wiring and no batteries when fitted in buildings to wireless sensors power from the environment they are placed in.

However, there are further mountains to climb in order to achieve self powered wireless sensors monitoring forest fires, pollution spillages and even inside the human body and in the concrete of buildings. These applications will become commonplace one day. Even devices with maintenance-free life of hundreds of years can now be envisaged. Meanwhile, bionic man containing maintenance free, self-powered devices for his lifetime is an objective for the next few years.

IDTechEx finds that the total market for energy harvesting devices, including everything from wristwatches to wireless sensors will rise to over $4 billion in 2021.