AWARD YEAR
2017
CATEGORY
Work
GOALS
Affordable & Clean Energy
KEYWORDS
sustainable energy, Minerals
COUNTRY
Finland
DESIGNED BY
Yang Bai and other researchers from the University of Oulu
WEBSITE
http://www.oulu.fi/university/node/45231
KBNNO
This material harvests energy from light, heat and movement at the same time
Now, researchers from the University of Oulu in Finland have discovered the 3-in-1 material of renewable energy, so to speak. This one material can simultaneously extract energy from three of the most accessible renewable energy sources at our disposal: sunlight, heat, and movement.
The material is from a family of minerals with a perovskite crystal structure.
The researchers saw that KBNNO is quite good at generating electricity from heat and pressure, but it would need to be modified to improve its pyroelectric and piezoelectric properties. “It is possible that all these properties can be tuned to a maximum point,” said Bai. His team is already exploring an improved version of the material by preparing KBNNO with sodium. The team plans to work on a prototype device that can harness multiple forms of energy. With fabrication fairly straightforward, commercialization could be expected within a few years.