Elsevier

Applied Energy

Volume 241, 1 May 2019, Pages 174-183
Applied Energy

e-Road: The largest energy supply of the future?

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.03.033Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Literature on energy production from roadways is surveyed.

  • e-Roads, which produce energy by energy harvesting modes, are proposed.

  • In addition to power production, e-Roads can support smart infrastructure.

  • Scaling-up of e-Road concept could potentially supply most of China’s power.

Abstract

Increasing and projected shortages in non-renewable energy sources have directed attention toward the potential for using regenerated energy from road traffic. There are currently three primary techniques for harvesting energy from roadways—piezoelectricity, thermoelectricity and photoelectricity—although, to date very few studies have focussed on the potential for integrating two or more of these, with most examining the application and optimisation of single-mode harvesting. To address this gap, this paper reviews and analyses the body of past research on road energy harvesting with the goal of developing a ‘dynamic-heat-light division recommendation’ based on the literature. From this research, a new concept of ‘e-Roads’ is proposed and defined in detail. If full use can be made of roadways as e-Roads under the division recommendation made in this paper, these structures have the potential to serve as one of the largest sources of energy in the near future. In this manner, this study serves as a reference for road construction and road network planning as well as a source of ideas for the development of intelligent traffic systems.

Section snippets

Background

The concurrent crises in energy supply and environmental degradation have led to an urgent need to develop and utilise renewable energy sources. The world has transited from the use of firewood to the burning of fossil energy sources and is now gradually stepping into the renewable energy era, which will require two necessary factors in its realisation: obtaining energy sources and finding modes of energy conversion. As an important component of infrastructure worldwide and a promising energy

Roadways: Basics of how they can supply energy

New energy technologies can provide technical support in the harvesting of energy from existing infrastructure. Currently, the conversion of pavement into an energy supply locale is an active area of research [4], [5] with most studies focussing on piezoelectric energy harvester (PEH) [6], solar collector (SC) [7], thermoelectric generators (TEG) [8] and photovoltaic (PV) applications [9] as representative technologies.

PEH involves the embedding of piezoelectric materials in pavement to enable

The energy of vibration: Piezoelectric energy harvester (PEH)

Mechanical energy is generated by the vibration of an object and disappears as the motion stops. Because this form of energy cannot be readily stored, it is necessary to develop techniques for mechanical energy harvesting. Fortunately, the piezoelectric effect, which was discovered by Pierre and Jacques Curies in 1880, can be used to convert mechanical energy into electric energy for use or storage [10].

There have been many sources of piezoelectric energy identified in the literature, including

Snow and ice melting by roadways: Solar collectors (SCs) and thermoelectric generators (TEGs)

For several decades, thermoelectric technology has been the focus of many studies on electric energy generation and the use of recovered waste heat to generate power [42], [43]. Many types of heat source can be used to generate power, including automobile and industrial exhaust and geothermal and solar energy [44], [45], [46]. In recent years, the utilisation of solar energy has attracted increasing attention as an inexhaustible renewable and sustainable resource. Because land is scarce,

When the sun shines on the road, it produces electricity: Photovoltaic (PV) pavements

As a type of sustainable energy that is widespread in the natural environment, solar energy and PV power generation have long been an important focus of research [64], [65], [66]. Solar energy can be collected by PV cells sited at power stations [67], in building walls [68], on building roofs [69], parking lot surfaces [70], located in deserts seas [71], and reservoirs [72], etc. Roads cover much of the settled land surface and receive light directly, enabling PV power generation to be carried

Integration of energy and roadways: Energy roads (e-Roads)

Current reviews of road energy harvesting mainly focus on only one or two ways to achieve energy conversion [64], [66], [76], [78], [89]. Even when reviews mention all of the energy conversion modes described in the preceding sections, they tend to focus on analysing or summarising the advantages and disadvantages of each mode while providing separate suggestions for each energy conversion mode [4], [5], [8]. There were few discussions combining multiple modes and, to bridge this gap,

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Department of Science & Technology of Shaanxi Province (Nos. 2016ZDJC-24, and 2017KCT-13), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Nos. 2017M620434) and the Special Fund for Basic Scientific Research of Central College of Chang'an University (Nos. 310821153502 and 310821173501).

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