“Otherwise someone has to drive around with a van to replace batteries” – Simon van der Jagt explains why energy harvesting, by eliminating the need for battery swaps, is one of the ways that can ensure a sustainable future of electronics.

The article explains:
“Batteries and wires are obstacles in the growing development of the Internet of Things. In theory it is interesting to connect all kinds of devices to the internet. Place sensors on the road surface and an empty parking space is easily found. Put them in a bridge and we know exactly when maintenance is needed. However, in practice, it soon runs into logistical problems with empty batteries and a bunch of tangled wires. […]

Nowi developed a chip that is able to convert energy from the environment into stable power. […] There are now several prototypes and the Nowi chip is in production at TSMC’s factory in Taiwan. […]

The Nowi chip is also used in remote controls. ‘These devices pose a significant environmental problem’, says Van der Jagt. ‘A television remote control wears out an average of fourteen batteries during its lifespan, billions of batteries are thrown away every year’.”

Read the full article in Dutch: https://fd.nl/tech-en-innovatie/1422971/ik-denk-dat-we-een-aardige-voorsprong-hebben