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ENERGY HARVESTING WITH INDUCTION
KEY PRIORITIES FOR A GREEN RECOVERY
By David Hall, Power Systems VP UK & Ireland at Schneider Electric The last few months have brought disruption across various industries and the energy sector is no different. The resilience and agility of the UK grid and energy supply chain has been put to the test, with National Grid already predicting that the disruption will cost £500 million, resulting from negative wholesale prices, the switch-off of surplus power generators, and a slump in energy demand. Utilities have a vital role to play in a green economic recovery, so here are three priorities that the energy
industry needs to consider: Invest in clean power systems: Clean power systems could be the single biggest investment opportunities
of the next decade. Renewable electricity generation, storage and power grids are all essential to decarbonise existing supply and meet growing electricity demand from the rapid electrification of buildings, transport and industry. The ETC forecasts a four to five-fold multiplication of electricity demand globally by 2050. This would require a growth in new wind and solar capacity to 1500GW installed per year on average over the next 30 years, along with investment in grid infrastructure. Making clean energy a priority in stimulus packages can be a key driver of job creation and encourage industry
investment in the following years. Renewable power systems can also, in time, contribute to economic recovery by driving down energy prices for businesses and consumers alike. Today, despite the recent fall in fossil fuels prices, renewable power is largely cheaper than fossil fuels power generation across major global markets – justifying the costs of building more flexibility into the grid to handle fluctuations in supply and demand. Support the adoption of EVs: Scrapping polluting petrol and diesel cars in favour of EVs is not only a key driver
in reducing our carbon footprint but could be vital in stimulating the economy through a ‘green recovery’. With the UK now having more EV charging points than petrol stations, and a ban on combustion cars to be introduced in 2035, we should be determined to ensure EVs become the dominant purchase option during the next ten years. Last year, the rise of e-mobility was already making peak oil in the late 2020s probable, and cheap renewables
were squeezing coal generation out of the power market. As the world progresses towards a lower-carbon economy, demand for fossil fuels is likely to shrink. Considering these long-term trends, leading fossil fuels players are preparing with plans to reduce their climate impact, such as reducing emissions of upstream operations or the carbon-intensity of the fuels they produce. At the same time, the industry must anticipate a decline in economic support for carbon-intensive operations.
Economic cash injections could usefully be invested in an early phase-out of the least competitive assets, the diversification of operations, and helping workers and local communities successfully navigate the transition. Looking ahead to driving growth: The development of new technologies and business models is a major driver
of economic growth. While supporting existing employers in the energy industry, stimulus packages should also support the creation and implementation of new sustainable solutions which could offer the UK a competitive advantage. Many new emerging technologies should help, such as zero-carbon hydrogen production, low-carbon fuels and electric charging options for the shipping industry, digital solutions for system and energy efficiency. Governments can support the development of these new economic sectors at relatively low cost, as the scale
of investments required in these activities is much lower than in national power infrastructure and construction. What matters in these emerging economic sectors is to accelerate technology deployment to unlock learning curve and economies of scale effects, which will enhance their cost-competitiveness. Secure sources of financial support from the government would allow innovative new businesses to negate the rise in cost of capital for early deployment projects, as can often happen in a climate of future market uncertainty, especially with technologies not yet established in the market.
TCT’s engineering expertise in ferromagnetic cores plus e-peas’ popular AEMS series of ultra-low power PMICs, has resulted in the two companies developing an energy harvesting platform that is based on induction. This is expected to have huge potential within building automation and smart-grid deployments. The companies have released a
demonstration of this in action, which consists of a compact TCT current generator accompanied by an e-peas AEM30940 PMIC. This current generator will be placed onto an electricity cable (carrying a few amps of AC current). Through induction it will be able to harvest energy from the AC current passing through the cable, with the AEM30940 (in combination with a semi-active rectifier) converting and managing the current delivered. The DC current will subsequently be used to power a connected hardware device comprising multiple sensors and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacon connectivity. An LED indicator is included to show that this is in operation. A video can be viewed on the e-peas website. “By using inductance, battery-
less control and monitoring, units will have the functionality needed to draw energy from electrical cabling that is already deployed. The logistical difficulties of having to periodically replace battery cells can be completely avoided, presenting facilities management with greater convenience and lower operational costs,” said Alexandre Decombejean, sales manager at TCT.
https://e-peas.com
www.se.com/uk/en/
ENERGY MANAGEMENT | AUTUMN 2020
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