An early morning run could soon harvest enough electricity to power a wearable device, thanks to nanotechnology developed at the UK’s University of Surrey.  

The university’s Advanced Technology Institute (ATI) has developed highly energy-efficient, flexible nanogenerators, which demonstrate a 140-fold increase in power density when compared with conventional nanogenerators. ATI researchers believe this development could pave the way for nano-devices that are as efficient as today’s solar cells.

The devices can convert small amounts of everyday mechanical energy, such as motion, into a significantly higher amount of electrical power, similar to how an amplifier boosts sound in an electronic system. For instance, if a traditional nanogenerator produces 10mW of power, this technology could increase that output to over 1000mW, making it suitable for energy harvesting in various everyday applications.

ATI’s nanogenerator works like a relay team; instead of one electrode (the runner) passing energy (charge) by itself. Each runner collects a baton (charge), adds more and then passes all batons to the next runner, boosting the overall energy that is collected in a process called the charge regeneration effect. 

“The dream of nanogenerators is to capture and use energy from everyday movements, like your morning run, mechanical vibrations, ocean waves or opening a door,” said postgraduate research student Delowar Hussain. “The key innovation with our nanogenerator is that we’ve fine-tuned the technology with 34 tiny energy collectors using a laser technique that can be scaled up for manufacture to increase energy efficiency further. What’s really exciting is that our little device with high energy harvesting density could one day rival the power of solar panels and could be used to run anything from self-powered sensors to smart home systems that run without ever needing a battery change.”

The device is a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) that can capture and turn the energy from simple, everyday movements into electricity.

“They work by using materials that become electrically charged when they come into contact and then separate, similar to when you rub a balloon on your hair, and it sticks due to static electricity,” said research fellow Bhaskar Dudem. “We are soon going to launch a company focused on self-powered, non-invasive healthcare sensors using triboelectric technology. Innovations like these will enable us to drive new spin-out activities in sustainable health tech, improve sensitivity and emphasise industrial scalability.”

Ravi Silva, ATI (www.surrey.ac.uk/advanced-technology-institute) director, added: “With the ever-increasing technology around us, it is predicted that we will have over 50 billion IoT devices in the next few years that will need energy to be powered. Local green energy is needed, and this could be a convenient wireless technology that harnesses energy from any mechanical movements to power small devices. We are incredibly excited about the potential of these nanogenerators to transform how we think about energy. You could also imagine these devices being used in IoT-based self-powered smart systems like autonomous wireless operations, security monitoring and smart home systems, or even for supporting dementia patients, an area in which the University of Surrey has great expertise.”