Overview of Energy Harvesting Technologies Used in Road Vehicles

• Published in: Energies (Basel) Vol. 16; no. 9; p. 3787
• Main Authors: Caban, Jacek, Vrabel, Jan, Górnicka, Dorota, Nowak, Radosław, Jankiewicz, Maciej, Matijošius, Jonas, Palka, Marek
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 28-04-2023
• Subjects: alternative energy; Alternative energy sources; Alternative fuels; Automobile industry; Automobiles; Automotive engines; Biodiesel fuels; Biofuels; Biogas; Biomass; Coal; Efficiency; Electricity; Emissions; Emissions control; Energy; Energy development; Energy harvesting; Energy industry; Energy resources; Energy sources; Environmental policy; Fossil fuels; Fuel cells; Fuel technology; Gaseous fuels; Hydroelectric power; Hydrogen; Industrial plant emissions; Internal combustion engines; micro sensors; Natural environment; Nuclear energy; Nuclear power plants; Renewable resources; Road transportation; Roads; Solar energy; thermoelectric generator; vibration energy; wasted energy; Weather; Wind; Poland
• ISSN: 1996-1073; 1996-1073
• DOI: 10.3390/en16093787

Road transport is one of the most important factors for the national economy due to its universality and comprehensive possibilities of transporting people and goods. Unfortunately, from the energy point of view, it is also the most cost-intensive and has a negative influence on the natural environment. For these reasons, issues related to limiting the use of conventional fuels are very important, which results in reducing emissions from this sector, as well as reducing transport costs. This article presents currently used energy sources for propulsion of road vehicles, including fossil and alternative fuels, gaseous fuels and other energy sources such as fuel cells. The following section presents technologies that allow to recover some of the energy lost in motor vehicles and internal combustion engines used for their propulsion. The principle of operation of these solutions, their structure and their main features are presented. The last part focuses on discussing and identifying the most universal technologies for energy harvesting in vehicles and showing further directions of energy development in the automotive sector.