VolDrive Kinetic Energy Harvester

VolDrive is a groundbreaking kinetic energy harvesting solution standing as a testament to design excellence. Our comprehensive approach focused on multiple facets of design, ensuring a holistic, high-quality user experience to create social impact.

Functionality and Accessibility:

We meticulously considered all parts of the product use journey to understand functionality in every aspect of operation, ensuring that our solution seamlessly integrates into existing processes and systems. Compatibility, ease of use and reliability were key priorities.

Extensive research and testing with customers like NextEra Energy, allowed us to understand operators’ needs and challenges. This assured a user-friendly, intuitive design that enhances usefulness and ease of use.

An earlier superseded design in VolPower, was subjected to extensive real-world testing and customer feedback dictated vast improvements in the design of VolDrive. Reliability and functionality were enhanced by reducing 21 moving parts to just 1 and active power electronics that are state-of-the-art being having efficiency measured to nanowatts.

Aesthetics and Safety:

Our solution embraces sleek, modern aesthetics. Attention to detail in material selection and finishes elevates the visual appeal of industrial assets.

Safety measures were paramount. We adhered to ISO9001 design and development standards, prioritising the well-being of operators and users with RoHS and CE compliance.

Quality and Sustainability:

Quality permeated every aspect of our design. From execution to implementation, we ensured a sense of purity, integration, and efficiency. Through FEA the shape is optimised providing the lowest possible volume and weight design.

By harnessing clean, renewable kinetic energy, we eliminated reliance on traditional battery-powered sensors. This reduction in waste contributes to a more sustainable society.

User-Centered Design:

Stakeholder feedback guided our process. Operators, end-users, and other stakeholders provided insights that shaped our design.

Ease of installation, intuitive interfaces, and seamless integration were non-negotiable. We prioritised a positive and meaningful experience for all involved.

VolDrive’s solution simplifies power supply, improves asset monitoring and eliminates the need for frequent maintenance, offering a trusted power source. This technology has the potential to revolutionise various industries, including mining, energy, and logistics.

The nominated project introduces a range of innovative aspects that underscore its efficacy and adaptability. A key feature is the in-situ generation of renewable electricity, eliminating the necessity for hard wiring or frequent battery replacements in challenging and remote locations. It provides an all-in-one long-life (+10-years) solution for energy generation and storage. This novel approach facilitates the deployment of IoT devices in harsh environments, without endangering human life or risking equipment outages. The integration of IoT in the harvester allows for improved speed of installation, commissioning, energy status and maintenance.

A standout innovation lies in the kinetic energy harvester, possessing a remarkable 100 times more power and twice the lifespan of commonly used piezo-electric kinetic energy harvesters in the market. While the average piezo-electric yields sub-3mW, VolDrive takes the lead by producing up to 350mW of power. This substantial increase in power production opens avenues for more sophisticated IoT devices, including those capable of machine learning, edge-based computing, direct to satellite communication and security protection on the IoT devices.

Other Key Features are

Simple installation: It can be installed with magnetic feet and serviceable within seconds at the install site, improving social impact by reducing renewable asset downtime and risk to personnel by design.

Uptime for renewable energy: The robust design needs no servicing, lasting a minimum 10-years, delivers substantial cost savings to asset operators and uptime for renewable energy.

Scalability: The design can be made in smaller and larger scale to suit end use cases. The design can be manufactured at scale with modern manufacturing process allowing it to be made close to end market.

VolDrive innovation stands out for several reasons:

VolDrive has registered design rights (202313303 & 202313286) and patents pending (2024205071 & 2023902356) for this innovative design.

Unlike traditional renewable energy sources that are limited to specific conditions, VolDrive can capture energy from a multitude of motion sources, enabling its deployment in various industries and sectors.

The harvesting electronics utilises our proprietary ultra-low power active rectifier system improving conversion efficiency by 40%.

By capturing energy that would otherwise go untapped, VolDrive contributes to a more sustainable future. Its ability to convert ambient motion into usable power reduces dependence on fossil fuels and minimises greenhouse gas emissions.

Onvol’s technology seamlessly integrates with existing systems, providing a constant output voltage that doesn’t reduce over time, which is a problem with batteries, making it a better and more reliable solution for many systems.

Globally, turbine maintenance represents the most complex and costly aspect of wind energy production, with $15 billion spent annually on onshore turbine repairs alone. Last year, more than half of this amount, $8.5 billion, was allocated to unplanned repairs resulting from increased equipment failures and damage, resulting from occurrences like lightning strikes on blades and defects that go undetected because sensors are difficult to power until the invention of this design.

Wind energy operators are rapidly adopting smart condition monitoring systems to combat these problems, however, powering them poses a significant challenge. VolDrive is pivotal for our customers Siemens Gamesa, GE Vernova, NextEra, Renanti to deploy and power their sensors.

VolDrive surpasses prior designs by producing approximately a hundred times more power output then similar harvesters. Billions of IoT devices will be deployed in the coming years with most powered by batteries. The design of VolDrive will result in a paradigm shift to powering IoT equipment in an environmentally sustainable and socially impactful way.

VolDrive kinetic energy harvesters offer a remarkable sustainable impact by eliminating the need for traditional batteries in powering IoT sensors.

Over the 10-year lifespan, each VolDrive negates the use of approximately 4800 batteries and 500kg of GHG emissions.

By converting movement into electricity, the harvesters not only utilise a renewable energy source, but they enable high performance operational monitoring on critical infrastructure like wind turbines. This allows more compute power, resulting in increased renewable output with less equipment damage.

VolDrive is 10X cheaper to deploy in turbine blades than batteries, saving operators $10,000 on each sensor deployment.

Our design adheres to the principles of a Circular Economy, embodying sustainability at its core. By designing out waste and minimising materials, we have created an efficient and resource-conscious solution. The solution revolutionises the industrial sector, bringing about positive impacts from multiple perspectives.

Socially, it enhances the safety and reliability of critical infrastructure, ensuring uninterrupted operations and minimising downtime.

Environmentally, the solution harnesses clean and renewable kinetic energy, reducing carbon footprints and contributing to a more sustainable future.

Commercially, it reduces costs associated with battery replacements & maintenance, improving operational efficiency and profitability.

Furthermore, the energy harvesters are designed for durability, longevity, and ease of recyclability, promoting responsible end-of-life practices and minimising environmental impact.

The project not only builds on but also contributes to the reputation and status of Australia’s design and creative culture. By pushing the boundaries of innovation, we showcase the talent and expertise present in Australia. Our solution serves as a testament to design-driven solutions that address real-world challenges and drive positive change.

VolDrive showcases how Australian Companies like Onvol can innovate state-of-the-art designs used by global industry leaders like GE and Simens. VolDrive emphasises the transformative power of design, promoting its importance as a driver of positive change.

Through meticulous design choices, we optimised resource efficiency at every stage. We minimised material usage without compromising performance, ensuring that our solution utilised only what was necessary.

Our solution harnesses kinetic energy to power sensors for wind turbines and critical assets. By leveraging this abundant energy source, we reduce reliance on non-renewable energy and minimise environmental impact. The energy conversion process was carefully designed for optimal efficiency, maximising the amount of usable energy harvested and therefore minimising the amount of material needed to produce the design. Every part is designed to provide seamless integration and precision operation for up to 50 million cycles. Our solution strives to design out waste, minimise materials and create a positive impact throughout its life cycle. The team carefully considered the entire product life cycle, from material selection and manufacturing processes to end-of-life considerations.

The design prioritises durability and longevity, ensuring a prolonged product lifespan. By creating robust and reliable energy harvesters, the team reduce the need for frequent replacements and minimise waste generation. Furthermore, the solution can be easily integrated into existing assets, extending their operational life, and avoiding premature disposal. We incorporated responsible end-of-life considerations into our design process. Our energy harvesting modules are designed for disassembly and recycling, facilitating the recovery of valuable materials and reducing environmental harm.

The impact extends far beyond its technical achievements, with significant implications for business, economic, and societal outcomes. Each unit deployed has a remarkable environmental impact, replacing 480 AA batteries each year, totally 4800 batteries worth of power over a 10-year lifespan. This not only underscores our commitment to sustainability but also contributes to a substantial reduction in electronic waste.

The project’s societal impact is remarkable. Without VolDrive, the effective deployment of sensors in turbine blades would be unfeasible due to the absence of power.