-Heavy |
Click here to view MotionPower™-Auto
New Energy engineers have successfully designed and built the Company’s first prototype MotionPower™-Heavy system for generating electricity from the movement of long-haul trucks, buses, and heavy vehicles by capturing their excess kinetic energy.
Kinetic energy is present in a moving vehicle, much like the energy present in a bicycle, which may sometimes continue to ‘roll’ even though it’s no longer being pedaled by the rider. Heavy-duty trucks have up to 25 times more kinetic energy than a typical car traveling at the same speed. New Energy’s MotionPower™-Heavy technology is designed to capture this kinetic energy when heavy vehicles come to a stop, and subsequently convert this otherwise unused energy into valuable electricity.
View a video of our MotionPower™ Heavy Vehicle Energy Harvesting System (small scale first-generation prototype):
http://www.newenergytechnologiesinc.com/motionpowerheavyvehicleprototype.html
Following the successful testing of our first small-scale MotionPower™-Heavy system, engineers are working to develop a full-scale system that is suitable for field-testing, and ultimately, commercialization.
Commercial-scale development of the our MotionPower™-Heavy technology, currently underway, represents the next step in New Energy’s carefully engineered product development program and is a major milestone towards commercialization of the first-of-its-kind, practical vehicle energy harvester. Once optimized, we envision that the MotionPower™-Heavy system can be installed at:
- Truck weigh scales
- Travel plazas
- Border crossings
- Toll plazas
- Rest areas
- Cargo ports
MotionPower™-Heavy: From Prototype to Commercial Deployment
Our brand new MotionPower™-Heavy energy harvester has first been developed as a fully functional, small scale prototype which makes use of innovative fluid-driven (‘peristaltic’) systems, thus eliminating most mechanical parts – an important feature designed to minimize mechanical wear and reduce future maintenance costs in commercial installation.
Important features of our novel MotionPower™-Heavy fluid-based energy harvester include:
- Large energy transfer from vehicles, which helps generate maximum electricity;
- Smooth energy transfer to ensure that the vehicle, driver, cargo, and passengers remain undisturbed when engaging the system;
- Optimal performance for a range of large vehicle sizes traveling at variable speeds;
- Flexibility of installation for both above-grade and in-road (embedded) applications;
- Scalable device which can be lengthened or shortened to meet installation requirements for each site;
- Limited number of moving or mechanical parts for ease of manufacturing, greater operating reliability, and lower maintenance and production costs;
- Unobstructed passage of small vehicles, bicyclists, and pedestrians over the device; and
- Unobtrusive visual impact.
Safety features of the field prototype include improved driver perception of the device, ensuring a greater degree of safety. Engineers have also reduced the vertical height of the system by 20%, an important feature for field testing which requires a non-embedded, above-road system. The slimmer profile serves to reduce the need for entry and exit transition ramps, resulting in a smoother drive over the system. The field prototype also features contiguous driving surfaces, which visually blend the system with the roadway and eliminate gaps, openings, or edges that could otherwise present safety or reliability issues.
Additionally, the new tamper-resistant design, accompanied by a suite of sensors, allows the system to operate and be tracked for extended periods of time without supervision, essential to conducting meaningful tests at field-installation sites. Field tests will help quantify the system’s response to a range of real-world operating conditions, an important precursor to further engineering and product design refinements towards commercial deployment of the MotionPower™ system.
Click here to learn about our MotionPower™-Auto system for generating electricity from the motion of cars and light trucks.
