Engineers from Lancaster University are working on smart
materials such as 'piezolectric' ceramics that when embedded in road surfaces
would be able to harvest and convert vehicle vibration into electrical energy.
The research project, led
by Professor Mohamed Saafi, will design and optimise energy recovery of around
one to two Megawatts per kilometre under 'normal' traffic volumes -- which is
around 2,000 to 3,000 cars an hour.
This amount of energy,
when stored, is the amount needed to power between 2,000 and 4,000 street
lamps. As well as providing environmental benefits, this would also deliver
significant costs savings for taxpayers.
It currently costs around
15p a kilowatt hour to power a street lamp. Therefore 2,000 to 4,000 lights can
cost operators -- which in the UK tend to be local authorities, or the Highways
Agency for motorways and trunk roads -- approximately between £1,800 and £3,600
per day. Researchers say the cost of installing and operating new road energy
harvesting technology would be around 20 per cent of this cost.
Professor Saafi said:
"This research is about helping to produce the next generation of smart
road surfaces.
"We will be
developing new materials to take advantage of the piezoelectric effect where
passing vehicles cause stress on the road surface, producing voltage. The
materials will need to withstand high strengths, and provide a good balance
between cost and the energy they produce.
"The system we
develop will then convert this mechanical energy into electric energy to power
things such as street lamps, traffic lights and electric car charging points.
It could also be used to provide other smart street benefits, such as real-time
traffic volume monitoring."
When the technology has
been developed it will undergo field trials in the UK and other areas of the
EU.
