Energy Harvesting Market and Energy Storage Market Trends 2020

Energy across the universe is available in the form of solar, wind, thermal, kinetic power, mechanical, and electromagnetic. Energy harvesting is a process by which energy derived from the above sources is captured, accumulated, stored and managed in such a way that it can be used for any viable purposes. It is commonly defined as the conversion of ambient energy into electrical energy. This ambient energy can be used during demand hours, for supply to off-grid remote areas. Energy is harvested by scavenging low-grade ambient energy, or wasted energy sources such as pressure gradients, thermal gradients, environmental vibrations, human power. This technology can be used as an alternate source to feed a primary power sources thus enhancing overall reliability of the system. The main goal of energy harvesting is not to generate large scale of power but to capture even small amount of energy that is wasted in day to day industrial process. 

 

 

New technical developments have increased the efficiency of these energy harvesting devices capturing even fraction amount of energy and transforming them into electrical energy. Energy harvesting can also be used as an alternate source to feed a primary power sources thus enhancing overall reliability of the system. This is particularly important during the peak hours when the supply cannot match the demand for energy. For this some form of energy storage devices are needed to match the demand and supply during peak hours and demand hours. Increased utilization of renewable energy sources for power generation has increased the demand for energy storage devices. The rapid rate at which renewable energy sources are adopted coupled with the goals for de-carbonization and energy security set by government across the world, propels the demand for energy storage technologies.

 

Energy harvesting is viewed as one of the most promising technology for approaching the global problem of energy without depleting the forms of energy. The energy harvesting process consists of three steps. In first step, energy is captured through solar panels, wind turbines, and others. Secondly, energy is stored with the help of capacitors, super capacitors, and batteries. Third step involves application of stored energy in operation of systems and devices. The market for energy harvesting and energy storage can be segmented on the basis of application, technology of energy harvesting, types of energy storage device used, and geography. On the basis of application of energy harvesting, the market for energy harvesting and energy storage can be bifurcated into buildings, electronics, military, aerospace, bicycle dynamo and other automotive applications. On the basis of technology used for energy harvesting, the market can be bifurcated into solar cells, electro-dynamo, thermoelectric, and piezoelectric. Solar cells followed by electro-dynamo are the two most prominent technologies for energy harvesting. The market based on the type of energy storage device used can be fragmented into capacitors, super capacitors, thin-film micro-energy storage devices, and batteries. Super capacitors and batteries are largely used for storage of harvested energy. However, with further advancements in technologies new form of storages are likely to emerge in the near future.

 

Energy harvesting reduces dependency on battery power and harvests free source of energy. This coupled increasing governmental support for the energy harvesting and energy storage technology is likely to drive the market in the future. Lack of awareness among people about energy harvesting concept along with its high initial cost may hamper growth in the global energy harvesting and energy storage market. Ample of growth opportunities exists in the market with advancements in nanotechnology. Nanotechnology is expected to reduce the size of energy harvesting devices and make it portable. Europe dominates the energy harvesting and energy storage market followed by North America, and Asia Pacific. The European Commission is promoting and providing significant funds in research and development of energy harvesting technologies. With this supports, Europe is likely to lead the energy harvesting and energy storage market in the near future. 

 

ABB Limited, Arveni, Fujitsu, Honeywell International Inc., and Siemens AG are some of the prominent players in the global energy harvesting and energy storage market.

 

This study by TMR is all-encompassing framework of the dynamics of the market. It mainly comprises critical assessment of consumers\' or customers\' journeys, current and emerging avenues, and strategic framework to enable CXOs take effective decisions.