A team at Israel's Technion Institute of Technology has developed a road that captures electricity, in hopes of reducing our dependence on conventional fossil fuels. Using metallic crystals that produce electricity when put under pressure, team leader Haim Abramovich is looking to achieve his dream of harvesting the wasted energy that millions of cars produce every day as they drive down the road.
"The name of the game is harvesting," Abramovich told Sky News in an interview. "Harvesting means energy which is available but is going to waste.
Abramovich and his team have constructed a 30-meter segment of road near Tel Aviv with special pads containing the metallic crystals buried underneath the asphalt. The pressure of a vehicle driving over the pads creates power.
Though one truck can create about 2,000 volts of electricity with the system, in order for that electricity to be useful a lot of amps are required as well. Creating amps demands numerous pads placed underneath hundreds of meters of road that experience a high amount of traffic moving very quickly.
The short-term plan is for the system to be used to power traffic lights and streetlights. However, with progress, the technology could possibly send power back to the grid.
Innowattech, a company that is working with the Israeli team on the project, has said that a kilometer of this electric road could potentially generate enough electricity to power 40 houses.
[Source: Sky News]
"The name of the game is harvesting," Abramovich told Sky News in an interview. "Harvesting means energy which is available but is going to waste.
Abramovich and his team have constructed a 30-meter segment of road near Tel Aviv with special pads containing the metallic crystals buried underneath the asphalt. The pressure of a vehicle driving over the pads creates power.
Though one truck can create about 2,000 volts of electricity with the system, in order for that electricity to be useful a lot of amps are required as well. Creating amps demands numerous pads placed underneath hundreds of meters of road that experience a high amount of traffic moving very quickly.
The short-term plan is for the system to be used to power traffic lights and streetlights. However, with progress, the technology could possibly send power back to the grid.
Innowattech, a company that is working with the Israeli team on the project, has said that a kilometer of this electric road could potentially generate enough electricity to power 40 houses.
[Source: Sky News]
Sign in to post
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Continue