Forget driverless vehicles; think energy independent vehicles
Forget driverless autonomous cars; energy independent vehicles (EIV) are the megatrend. At least according to IDTechEx.
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Credit: Toyota |
EIVs are electric vehicles that need no external charging or refueling, making their own electricity as needed using rapidly renewable clean, free-of-charge sources.
Though not without their shortcomings, electric land vehicles, boats, underwater craft and aircraft that never plug in or refuel already exist. Most use solar cells for their power, storing the power for use at night; however, few use bad weather harvesting. Further, they waste much of the captured energy as heat.
But there is good news: these shortcomings can be addressed.
The best EIVs, according to IDTechEx, will charge batteries, even while stationary, using on-board energy harvesting equipment.
IDTechEx offers these examples of technology that has already been demonstrated: tethered aircraft charging ship batteries at tens of kilowatts; boats that charge batteries by the propeller going backwards when the boat is moored in a tidestream; and sailing boats charging when underway. In windy areas, IDTechEx envisions a car that could erect a wind turbine and extend more solar panels when parked.
And then there's "spray-on" solar. Scientists at the University of Toronto's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering have created a new method to spray solar cells on flexible surfaces, making solar cells easier and less expensive to manufacture, and opening up new applications of solar powered devices and a new class of manufacturable solar technologies. Being able to spray on solar cells means an energy source can be put on just about any object or shape (think car roofs, mobile phones, patio furniture or the wing of an airplane).
"Taken together, the multiple uses of energy harvesting for internal efficiency and for external sourcing of energy can give 10-fold increase in performance by 2025. Structural electronics will take it further," said IDTechEx analyst Dr. Peter Harrop. "Already, autonomous underwater vehicles surface to convert solar and wave power. Even remote regions and developing countries will afford EIVs with near-zero operating cost and ultimate freedom of use. Today's demonstrations and plans shows this will encompass on- and off-road vehicles, boats, ships, airships and fixed wing planes."
He added, "It will not all happen overnight but there is a huge new industry in the making."
In fact, as they become much more capable, EIVs are going to be of immense importance in remote communities and the third world.
IDTechEx forecasts the whole electric vehicle business to be around $400 billion in 2026 -- and rising strongly thereafter with electric energy independent vehicles becoming an increasingly significant part of this multi-billion dollar industry.
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