GRC Pilot: Harvesting Energy from Natural and Anthropogenic Vibrations

Over time, human beings have created innovative technologies to extract energy from natural sources. Renewable energies have seen great development and a sharp increase in installed power plants over the last 30 years. However, the energy demand is rapidly growing, and even though renewable energies cover 30% of the global energy production, there is a constant need for new technologies. Facing the global temperature increase, and the already noticeable climate change, all the countries were called by the United Nations through the Paris Agreement to immediate actions to improve the current critical situation. One of the main goals is to ensure the transition to green and renewable options, which must be accessible to everyone, particularly in developing countries. Nowadays, third-world communities are the most vulnerable to energy scarcity and increasing energy prices, as the high cost of energy could make it only accessible to the richest countries. The UN Global Crisis Response Group has recently called for support regarding the transition of these countries to new, cheaper, and renewable energy options. To meet this goal, it is necessary to increase funding for research and on-site implementation, facilitating the green energy transfer. In this project, we explore the possibilities of harvesting green energy from the physics behind vibrations, which can be turned into electricity using special materials called piezoelectric materials. When they are bent, deformed, or pressed, they generate a voltage that can be used to power electric devices. We plan to design, build, and implement an energy harvester device based on piezoelectric materials for community and industry applications with the fundamental motivation of tackling climate change and the lack of alternative energy supplies in low-income communities. We aim to help both industry and citizenship to be guided into the transition to green energies, to get more sustainable countries and cities. The project will be executed by consortium members from three different countries, Norway (SINTEF AS), Sweden (University of Uppsala), and Chile (Universidad de Chile). Additionally, for industry implementation, we count on the collaboration of CODELCO Chile and the Svelvik CO2 Field Lab, Norway. Finally, the community implementation will be done with the participation of the Camarones Municipality, Chile. This project is funded through the international call SDG Pilot Call, a collaboration between 11 funding agencies from Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin-America. The aim of the call is to accelerate the achievement of the SDGs, through the implementation of results from ongoing or recently finalised research and innovation projects to advance knowledge-based achievement of the SDGs, from local to regional scale.

Mechanical vibrations are defined as periodic oscillations with respect to an equilibrium point. Several kinds of them, such as natural, anthropogenic, or industrial (mining, CCS) are daily registered. Vibrations produce energy, a well-known phenomenon largely described. E-VIBES project focuses on the development of prototype devices that harvest vibrational energy utilizing piezoelectric and/or electromagnetic effects, converting mechanical vibrations into electric energy. The harvesters will be tested in a low-income community in northern Chile and at industrial levels, tackling energy decarbonization with universal access, and particularly SDG 7 -affordable and clean energy-, 11 -sustainable cities and communities -, and 13 -climate action-. The project will be executed by consortium members from three different countries, Norway (SINTEF AS), Sweden (University of Uppsala), and Chile (Universidad de Chile). Additionally, for industry implementation, we count on the collaboration of CODELCO Chile and the Svelvik CO2 Field Lab, Norway. Finally, the community implementation will be done with the participation of the Camarones Municipality, Chile. This project is funded through the international call SDG Pilot Call, a collaboration between 11 funding agencies from Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin-America. The aim of the call is to accelerate the achievement of the SDGs, through the implementation of results from ongoing or recently finalised research and innovation projects to advance knowledge-based achievement of the SDGs, from local to regional scale.