Only the new IDTechEx report, "Energy Harvesting Microwatt to Gigawatt: Opportunities 2020-2040" covers the latest energy harvesting scene from sub microwatts to gigawatts with 20 year forecasts and technology roadmaps. Increasingly, the same companies produce and develop the materials, from highly profitable small quantities to successful large business from volume. For example, multijunction compound semiconductor harvesting is coming from satellites and drones to powering cars. Understand huge gaps in the market such as self-powered full-function smart watches, better healthcare implants and harvesting for billions of Internet of Things nodes.

 

The primary focus of this report is on how ambient energy is converted and how that will create profitable new businesses so there are chapters on the different harvesting technologies, participants and opportunities ending with a chapter on combinations. The emphasis is on what is new and coming in future, materials and device sales. The report is of interest to the electronics and electrical engineering industries but also those involved in zero emissions, battery replacement and allied issues in many industries from healthcare to textiles, agriculture, aerospace and transport. All in the energy harvesting and power industries will find assistance here from materials suppliers to system operators.

 

Twenty years of study of energy harvesting by IDTechEx PhD level, multilingual analysts is at the heart of this overview "master" report, unique in its insights, new information, roadmaps and forecasts based on privileged databases, interviews and travel to events including those on the subject by IDTechEx and our background of consultancy in the subject.

 

Here is sub-microwatts to gigawatt level, low power being primarily for electronics and high power for electrical engineering but there are common factors in all of that such as the introduction of new electrodynamic (electrokinetic) and photovoltaic energy harvesting chemistry, physics and formats at almost all power levels. We add new competitors, some with exceptionally broad potential and are blunt about the dead ends, giving and impartial view. In all engineering, few other technologies span 15 magnitudes of performance. Understand the easy way by viewing these new infograms, pictures, comparisons and road maps.

 

The 230 page IDTechEx report, "Energy Harvesting Microwatt to Gigawatt: Opportunities 2020-2040" covers over 200 organisations and materials. Its Executive Summary and Conclusions Chapter is sufficient in itself for these with limited time. Here are the eleven leading technologies compared, leading suppliers named, emerging materials opportunities identified. Progress from hype to genuine success, technology roadmap and markets are presented. 21 primary conclusions and 26 trend graphs are presented by technology. The Introduction then has many new comparisons of latest technologies. See physics, chemistry, type of electricity produced, quest to simplify or eliminate energy storage by better energy creation, power density, conversion efficiency and other issues. Vibration harvesting is quantitatively assessed here as it involves many forms of harvesting. Then comes two big new opportunities - flexible versions and how to power zero-emission microgrids and then optimal emerging technologies for six sectors.

 

Chapter 3 is on photovoltaics, thoroughly covering all the new options and their market creation as well as their replacement of identified losers. Chapter 4 assesses promising newcomer triboelectric harvesting and its future. Chapter 5 explains how new thermoelectric technology is creating a big future whereas pyroelectric is not. Chapter 6 scopes electrodynamic (electrokinetic) harvesting for water, wind, watch, building controls and many other uses, linear and rotational, and its future. Chapter 7 appraises piezoelectric harvesting and Chapter 8 reveals how combinations of all these are now a big trend, even full integration.