Experimental technologies

The relentless pursuit of decarbonization and energy security is driving innovation beyond the established patterns of renewable generation, into a realm of unconventional and often experimental technologies that seek to harness untapped or overlooked energy fluxes.

The exploration into “out-of-pattern” energy creation involves leveraging physical phenomena, biological processes, and radical environmental gradients that traditional infrastructure ignores. These approaches are characterized by their potential for high energy density, continuous baseload operation, or their ability to be deployed in novel contexts, offering solutions for niche applications that could, in time, scale to disrupt the broader energy landscape.

The development of systems that can scavenge micro-watts to watts from ambient sources such as radio frequency (RF) waves from Wi-Fi and cellular networks, temperature gradients across industrial pipes (via thermoelectric generators).

Plant-Microbial Fuel Cells: 

An emerging field that generates electricity from the organic compounds released by plant roots during photosynthesis. By placing electrodes in the soil amongst rhizobacteria, a small but continuous trickle of electricity can be produced,

Space-Based Solar Power (SBSP):

The ultimate out-of-pattern concept, involving collecting solar energy in space, where the sun always shines, and beaming it wirelessly to Earth via microwaves or lasers.