Four tech breakthroughs take inspiration from
the environment itself, showing that solutions for a more sustainable energy
future might just come from the natural world around us.
Whales to turbines:
The multinational company WhalePower was inspired by humpback whales
to create efficient turbine blades that work even in low-wind environments.
WhalePower has since used similar designs for cooling fans, including one for a
diesel engine and one small enough to cool computer graphic cards.
- Biology professor Frank Fish was intrigued by how fluidly
humpback whales swam in the water and how quickly they were able to turn.
Professor Fish collaborated with engineer Phil Watts, who was experienced in
both mechanical engineering and aviation.
- Whales have what are called “tubercles,” scalloped edges
on their fins to minimize turbulence when they do spirals in the water. The
tubercles prevent stalling, when the object loses its lift.
- Tubercle-style wings on an airplane reduced drag by over
30 %, adding 20% energy efficiency, durability and stability.
- The patented technology is now licensed to companies in a
variety of fields. As Fish told the European Patent
Office, “From
animals we can learn so much, we just have to look closely.”
Go with the flow:
The French company Eel Energy is creating hydroelectric energy
based on marine currents and building an environmentally friendly product that
could be used all over the world. A membrane with a semi-rigid skeletal
structure that moves with the flow of water, generating kinetic energy.
- This membrane works sort
of like a sail detecting fluid pressure that is transmitted to the skeletal
structure. Electromagnetic converters placed strategically along the membrane
generate the energy through a series of coils and magnets.
- As long as there are
rivers and tides, the product can be installed anywhere. There are far more
places to install them in oceans than for classic hydroelectric devices, as
they don’t need as high of current levels.
- The English and French
coasts have the greatest potential for currents, with the opportunity for
hydroelectric farms producing energy 24/7. One square kilometer could generate
the same amount of power as a nuclear reactor.
- The membrane produces less
wake than other similar devices and does not pollute or cause noise that might
impact marine life. In fact, a challenge now is addressing abrasion resistance
and chemical composition to make sure marine organisms don’t make a home out of
the membrane.
Unseen light:
Even as solar panels have
become more efficient and affordable to the general public, they face the
challenge of collecting power when the sun is not shining. But a new technology using organic luminescent
particles to gather unseen ultraviolet light might provide a clean energy
solution.
- Aurora Renewable Energy
and UV Sequestration (or AuREUS) was created by Carvey Ehren Maigue, an
electrical engineering student. The particles convert UV light into visible
light. A solar film then converts that into energy.
- “It’s similar to how we breathe
in oxygen and we exhale carbon dioxide,” Maigue tells Fast Company. “It takes
in ultraviolet light, and then after some time it would shed it as visible
light.”
- The recipient of the first
James Dyson Sustainability Award, Maigue took vegetable crop and food waste and
made it into a luminescent material, which he combined with resin. Maigue says
that scaled up, the panels could generate enough energy for an entire building.
- The resin, which is
similar to that used in bulletproof glass, can be formed into windows, walls
and other design features. The resin could also be used in other materials,
like threads for power-generating fabrics. “If we can democratize renewable
energy, we can bring it both physically closer to people as well as
psychologically closer,” Maigue says.
Antenna collectors:
Photosynthetic organisms found around the globe are efficient and robust light harvesters. Researchers are learning to better understand their antennae, which could lead to innovations in synthetic energy collection. Their research, published in the journal Nature Chemistry, is an example of biomimicry, when organic objects and processes provide design inspiration.
- These antennae, which are made of fragile materials known as supra-molecular assemblies, play a crucial role in photosynthesis. Researchers at the City College of New York found that protein or lipid scaffolds surround these fragile assemblies in order to stabilize the process.
- Dr. Kara Ng, one of the researchers, tells Science Daily: "Although we can't replicate the complexity of the protein scaffolds found in photosynthetic organisms, we were able to adapt the basic concept of a protective scaffold to stabilize our artificial light-harvesting antenna."
- While existing solar cell architectures have failed to replicate this complex harvesting model, the researchers’ goal is to “learn from nature's masterpieces to inspire entirely new solar energy harvesting architectures,” says co-author Dorthe M. Eisele.
- Their replica of a cage-like scaffold design stabilizes supra-molecular assemblies against environmental factors like extreme temperature changes.
