In a significant leap for sustainable energy, South Korean company DEOGAM has unveiled a revolutionary battery technology that could reshape the landscape of power generation.
DEOGAM’s new battery technology uses energy harvesting, a process that captures and converts ambient energy into usable power. It enables devices to self-generate electricity from sources like light, heat, or movement.
At its core, the DEOGAM battery is an electric energy recycling system. It uses advanced materials and smart engineering to capture energy from its surroundings through photovoltaic cells, thermoelectric generators, and piezoelectric elements, though some specifics remain undisclosed.
The company behind the energy-harvesting battery began by seeking a faster way to charge electric buses. Their solution was to capture and reuse energy that’s typically lost during travel.
Battery tech undergoes trials in Jeju taxis, EU rollout planned next year
Working with Korea’s automotive industry, DEOGAM is testing their new battery in 500 Hyundai Ioniq 5 taxis in Jeju, South Korea. If successful, they plan to introduce the technology in EU EVs by next April.
DEOGAM’s technology has the potential to revolutionize more than just electric vehicles. It holds promise for applications in wearables, smartphones, and IoT devices. For instance, it could enable smartwatches and fitness trackers to generate power from body heat and movement. In smartphones, screens could double as solar panels, prolonging battery life throughout the day.
Moreover, IoT devices and smart home gadgets could become self-sufficient, minimizing the need for frequent battery replacements.
The company has successfully demonstrated its prototypes and is now focusing on scaling production and establishing partnerships with device manufacturers. DEOGAM plans to integrate its energy-harvesting batteries into consumer products within the next two years.
Energy-harvesting breakthrough adds to recent EV battery innovations
Energy-harvesting breakthroughs, like DEOGAM’s, are part of a broader wave of innovations in EV battery technology. Recently, Austrian researchers discovered that tracking lithium ions can unlock 25% hidden power in EV batteries.
Whether in an electric vehicle (EV) or a battery energy storage system (BESS), LFP batteries are known for their affordability and long lifespan. However, they have a lower energy density compared to nickel, manganese, and cobalt (NMC) batteries.
The researchers figured out why LFP batteries consistently deliver 25% less energy than expected, a breakthrough that could unlock significant hidden power by tracking lithium ions.
In essence, they discovered that some lithium ions remained trapped in the cathode’s crystal lattice even when the battery was fully charged, explaining the lower capacity. The uneven distribution of these ions, caused by distortions in the crystal structure, was mapped to a nanometer scale in their analysis.
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ABOUT THE EDITOR
Bojan Stojkovski Bojan Stojkovski is a freelance journalist based in Skopje, North Macedonia, covering foreign policy and technology for more than a decade. His work has appeared in Foreign Policy, ZDNet, and Nature.