SelF-powerIng electroNics – the Key to Sustainable future

Introduction

Scientific and technological achievements are often accompanied by pollution of the planet. Even electronics, believed to be clean, produce waste counting in trillions of batteries. We propose a solution that consists of battery-less self-supplying systems, thus helping to keep our planet green.

Concept of P/T "Tides"

Surprisingly, not only seas exhibit tides; the atmospheric pressure (P) and temperature (T) also do something similar. SFINKS will try to spark a new era of battery-less electronics by exploiting the natural P/T “tides” to produce electricity in innovative micro-generators.

The Magic of P/T "Tides"

The MAGIC of the P/T “tides” resides in the fact that they are always delivering and omnipresent. Such generators will thus produce energy continuously, everywhere, regardless of their location, installation, or orientation. This sounds like a dream, but…

Historical Context

Five years after I got this idea, my PhD students found a wonderful confirmation that the dream may become true. Early 17th century inventor C. Drebbel constructed an Eltham Perpetuum clock based on the principle of P/T “tides.” One of its followers, the Beverly clock, is still running despite never having been wound since 1864.

Limitations of Past Inventions

However, for all these 400 years, the invention has remained relatively bulky and stagnated at the mechanical energy stage. In SFINKS, we will firstly miniaturize it towards monolithic Silicon technology and develop innovative co-integrated conversion to electrical energy.

Project Goals

Our target will be:

1. The first always-delivering generator using an omnipresent energy source.
2. The first generator free of any installation constraints.
3. The first micro-scale generator using P/T “tides” to produce electricity.

Impact on Technology

This innovation will unblock further expansion of the Internet of Things by removing its bottleneck, i.e., batteries. Thanks to their quasi-perpetual lifetime, the SFINKS harvesters are also well-suited to work on Mars, Venus, or on board of satellites, where the P or T variations are very present.

Future Aspirations

Our dream is to send a few SFINKS-powered sensors with a space exploration mission to Mars.