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Israeli company to generate electricity from under highway generators
An Israeli energy start-up wants to turn irritating rush-hour traffic into a source of electricity. Innowattech, Wonder if they have TPS reports and Mr. Lundberg an energy company affiliated with Israel's Technion Institute of Technology, said special generators placed under roads, railways and runways can harvest enough energy from passing vehicles to mass-produce electricity. ... the first pilot program would begin in the coming months on a 30 meter (90 foot) strip of highway outside Tel Aviv and that similar projects could start internationally in 2010. One of the hurdles was finding a way to package the generators so they are effective when buried in the road. The company's chief scientist, Eugeny Harash, developed a casing that acts like asphalt. The generators are then put in the road during scheduled maintenance in 30 cm (11 inch) squares. "The asphalt is elastic and the pressure of each tire that passes is picked up by the generator, which is buried about 3 cm (1 inch) below the road's surface," Harash said. "The drivers won't even feel a difference." The piezoelectric material lasts for at least 30 years, which is longer than most roads, Harash said. this might have problems in countries that use deicing chemicals during the winter Posted by: mhw 2009-03-11 |
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