Sunday, July 12, 2009

Generating Electricity from Road Traffic

Researchers at Haifa's Technion Institute of Technology have started testing a new system for generating electricity from road traffic on a 30-meter strip of highway near Tel Aviv.

The system is based on piezo electricity, which uses pads of metallic crystals buried over hundreds of meters of road to generate electricity when put under the pressure of quickly moving traffic.

While the concept is not new, the application is a novelty. One truck can generate 2,000 volts which could already be used to power traffic lights or street lamps. A kilometer of “electric road” could generate enough power for 40 houses, and progress in the technology could generate enough electricity to feed the national power grid.

A company called Innowattech is working with the team to develop the technology.

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