April 16, 2012 The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) has ratified a new standard — ISO/IEC 14543-3-10 — for wireless applications with ultra-low power consumption. It is the first and only wireless standard that is also optimised for energy harvesting solutions and, therefore, for EnOcean's self-powered wireless technology. Read more

April 12, 2012 The success of Wireless Sensor Networks technologies in high-risk fields such as medical devices, defense and natural disaster monitoring, will need to focus on maintaining security and reliability, according to a new report released by semiconductor analyst, GBI Research. Read more

March 9, 2012 The University of Southampton is launching a new resource for the world's scientific community which will provide energy data from sources such as human motion, wind speeds and light irradiance that could be used to power wireless electronic device. Read more

February 28, 2012 EnOcean has released the company’s new ESK 300 starter kit which offers a speedy, simple and cost-effective approach to batteryless wireless technology. The starter kit includes a variety of energy converters and modules enabling the effortless creation of energy-autonomous wireless sensors. Read more

February 24, 2012 Powercast Corporation has introduced a RF-based wireless power chipset and reference design for embedded, low-power, wireless charging applications. The chipset and reference design, available for license, will make it easy and more affordable for OEMs to embed Powercast’s core RF energy-harvesting technology into their battery-less, or rechargeable battery-based devices, enabling RF energy (radio waves) to perpetually power them. Read more

February 14, 2012 Arrow Electronics has developed an energy-harvesting evaluation kit together with Italian technology consultant company @m2el that enables users to transmit and receive data via modules powered by solar energy and temperature differences. Called ‘The Drop’ the kit showcases components from Atmel Corporation and Linear Technology which were selected for their low-power consumption and suitability for harvesting applications. Read more

February 13, 2012 Arrow Electronics has developed an energy-harvesting evaluation kit together with Italian technology consultant company @m2el that enables users to transmit and receive data via modules powered by solar energy and temperature differences. Called “The Drop,” the kit showcases components from Atmel Corporation and Linear Technology that were selected for their low-power consumption and suitability for harvesting applications. Read more

January 5, 2012 Linear Technology Corporation has acquired Dust Networks, Inc., a leading provider of low power wireless sensor network (WSN) technology. The acquisition of Dust Networks, based in Hayward, California, will enable Linear to offer a complete high performance wireless sensor networking solution. Read more

November 25, 2011 Integrating a complex, single-crystal material with "giant" piezoelectric properties onto silicon, University of Wisconsin-Madison engineers and physicists can fabricate low-voltage, near-nanoscale electromechanical devices that could lead to improvements in high-resolution 3-D imaging, signal processing, communications, energy harvesting, sensing, and actuators for nanopositioning devices, among others. Read more

November 24, 2011 EnOcean is launching the third generation of its mechanical energy converters - the ECO 200. Combined with the PTM 330 transmitter module the result is an entire system for batteryless wireless operations. The new pairing optimizes the speedy and simple implementation of energy harvesting switching solutions. EnOcean's solution opens up new possibilities for various self-powered wireless switching elements – in building automation, in industry and in household appliances. Read more

November 7, 2011 STMicroelectronics is extending the company’s family of RFID/NFC wireless memory ICs with a new 16-Kbit device that can also harvest enough energy to enable small electronic items using it to become completely battery-free electronic applications. Read more

October 25, 2011 Micropelt's TE-CORE is a maintenance-free self-sustaining power source for ultra-low power wireless applications. The configurable thermal energy harvesting module offers system integrators and vendors of autonomous sensors and micro actuators a fast way to battery-less system design and virtually indefinite maintenance-free operation. Read more

October 25, 2011 Texas Instruments Incorporated has unveiled the company's next generation of power management integrated circuits (ICs) for energy harvesting. The highly efficient boost charger for nano (ultra low) power energy harvesting manages the microwatts to milliwatts of power generated from a number of sources, such as solar, thermoelectric, electromagnetic and vibration, and stores the extracted energy in various storage elements, including Li-ion batteries and super capacitors. Read more

October 17, 2011 University of Michigan's Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, has developed the reflective photovoltaic color filter device that can convert absorbed light to electricity. A new kind of screen pixel using such color filters could doubles as a solar cell and could boost the energy efficiency of cell phones and e-readers. The technology could also potentially be used in larger displays to make energy-harvesting billboards or decorative solar panels. Read more

October 10, 2011 Research scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Microelectronic Circuits and Systems IMS in Duisburg have now developed wireless window contacts which indicate when a house's windows are open or closed.  The fail-safe system uses sensors that harvest the energy they need to run from ambient radio signals. Read more

September 27, 2011 Marlow Industries launched the EverGen series of thermoelectric-based energy harvesting devices, offering a low-cost, zero-maintenance power solution for wireless sensor applications. By converting small degrees of temperature difference into milliwatts of electrical power, the EverGen series can power wireless sensors for the lifetime of sensors, actuators, valve solenoids and other small devices. Read more

August 22, 2011 Researchers at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science have created a novel concept for harvesting and recycling energy for electronic devices, one that involves equipping these devices' LCD screens with built-in photovoltaic polarizers, allowing them to convert ambient light, sunlight and their own backlight into electricity. Read more

August 15, 2011 UCLA engineers have created a concept for harvesting and "recycling" energy from LCD screens. Built-in photovoltaic polarizers allow them to convert ambient light, sunlight and their own backlight into electricity. Read more

August 4, 2011 In 2011, IDTechEx research finds that the amount of money spent on energy harvesters will be USD0.7Bn, with several hundred developers involved throughout the value chain. Energy harvesting is the process by which ambient energy is captured and converted into electricity for small autonomous devices, such as satellites, laptops and nodes in sensor networks making them self-sufficient. Energy harvesting applications reach from vehicles to the smart grid. Read more

July 20, 2011 Ferroelectric memories, energy harvesting arrays, sensors and actuators could soon be fabricated on plastic substrates, according to researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology, who recently demonstrated a new low-temperature process using an atomic-force microscope (AFM). Read more

July 13, 2011 A team headed by Lei Zuo, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering working through the Advanced Energy Technology & Research Center at Stony Brook University has won a prestigious R&D 100 Award—dubbed the "Oscar of Invention"—for the development of an energy-harvesting shock absorber that converts vibration, bumps, and motion experienced by the suspension of a vehicle or train into electric power. The regenerative shock absorber for cars can harvest over 100 watts from the vehicle vibrations under normal driving conditions. Read more

May 26, 2011 Silicon Labs has launched an energy-efficient wireless sensor node solution powered by a solar energy harvesting source. The new turnkey energy harvesting reference design is aimed at developers implementing self-sustaining, ultra-low-power wireless sensor networks for home and building automation, security systems, industrial control applications, medical monitoring devices, asset tracking systems and infrastructure and agricultural monitoring systems. Read more

May 3, 2011 The EnOcean Alliance, a consortium of companies working to standardize and internationalize energy harvesting wireless technology for green intelligent buildings, has declared that its wireless, battery-less energy harvesting sensors and associated control systems are now fully interoperable with TCP/IP. Read more

March 18, 2011 STMicroelectronics, ARaymond and Micropelt are jointly presenting thermal-energy harvesting-based solutions to power 'smart sensors' and 'smart microsystems' at the Hannover Fair under the common theme of 'Green Solutions.' The three companies are partnering to exhibit the entire value chain of self-sustaining wireless systems in a joint booth (Hall 8, D26). Read more

February 25, 2011 Alpha Micro Components, the UK-based independent franchised distributor of electronic components, has entered into an agreement with the originator of patented self-powered wireless technology EnOcean GmbH which will see Alpha Micro Components distribute EnOcean's energy harvesting wireless sensor modules in the UK and Ireland. Read more

February 8, 2011 Electronic components distributor Digi-Key Corporation has entered into an agreement Advanced Linear Devices, Inc. (ALD), a global manufacturer off precision CMOS linear integrated circuits, which will see Digi-Key distribute ALD products to customers worldwide. Read more

December 21, 2010 As we are sucked inexorably into the vortex that will become 2011 perhaps it is time to declare EE Times Europe Power Management’s Top 10 most popular news stories of 2010. The results are based on the news stories that were accessed by EE Times Europe Power Management’s readership since January 1, 2010. Read more

December 13, 2010 Fujitsu Laboratories has developed a new hybrid energy harvesting device that generates electricity from either heat or light. The single device can derive energy from two separate sources, which previously could only be handled by combining individual devices. Manufactured from inexpensive organic materials, the hybrid device could pave the way to the widespread use of energy harvesting. Read more

November 17, 2010 Mouser Electronics has announced it has signed a global distribution agreement with Powercast Corporation, a ground breaking innovator bringing remote, wireless power capabilities to micro-power devices. Read more

November 17, 2010 Powercast Corporation has unveiled its Lifetime Power Energy Harvesting Development Kit for Battery Charging. The kit features near-loss-less energy storage and efficient charging via the THINERGY Micro-Energy Cell (MEC), a solid-state, rechargeable thin-film micro-battery from Infinite Power Solutions (IPS). Read more

November 9, 2010 Linear Technology and Energy Micro have combined their expertise in energy harvesting power supplies and ultralow power 32-bit microcontrollers to produce a demonstration at Electronica 2010 that showcases the opportunities for smart energy harvesting applications. Read more

November 8, 2010 Texas Instruments has upgraded its commitment to the EnOcean Alliance for energy-efficient buildings, becoming a promoter of the Alliance of which it has been a member since 2008. By upgrading to promoter status, TI says it is reinforcing its commitment to EnOcean's energy-harvesting wireless technology and will provide its expertise in energy-efficient integrated circuits (ICs). Read more

October 27, 2010 Microchip Technology and Powercast Corporation have announced the Lifetime Power Energy Harvesting Development Kit for Wireless Sensors featuring PIC® microcontrollers with eXtreme Low Power (XLP) Technology. Read more

October 19, 2010 Powercast Corporation has announced the TX91501 Powercaster transmitter which uses the 915-MHz ISM band to transmit common radio waves for power and data in commercial, industrial and defense applications. As the power source for the company's RF energy-harvesting wireless power solution, the TX91501 broadcasts power and data over 40 feet to its companion Powerharvester receivers. Read more

October 18, 2010 A high performance, synchronous boost converter that incorporates maximum power point control (MPPC) and starts up with inputs as low as 250 mV has been unveiled by Linear Technology. The LTC3105 operates over a wide input range of 0.2 V to 5 V, making it ideal for harvesting energy from high impedance alternative power sources, including photovoltaic cells, thermoelectric generators (TEGs) and fuel cells. Read more

September 8, 2010 Rising deployment of tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) acerbates the necessity to find alternatives for battery-powered systems, says IDTechEx analyst Haary Zervos. An alternative would be energy harvesting systems. Read more

August 20, 2010 Linear Technology has introduced an ultralow quiescent current synchronous buck converter than can deliver up to 50 mA of continuous output current from a 2.7 V to 20 V input supply. Read more

August 17, 2010 Scientists at the University of Southampton are planning to develop technology that may enable people to power MP3 players and other devices through their clothes and the carpets they walk on. Read more

July 19, 2010 Microchip Technology Inc. is partnering with Cymbet Corporation to provide the world's first customizable energy harvesting application development kit - the XLP 16-bit Energy Harvesting Development Kit. Read more

July 19, 2010 Japan's Brother Industries Ltd., best known as a producer of printers, has developed vibration energy harvesters in form factors to allow them to replace AA and AAA batteries, according to a Tech-On article. Read more

June 9, 2010 This week Perpetuum Ltd., of Southampton, UK and Dust Networks of Hayward, California, USA, will be demonstrating that energy harvesting-powered wireless sensor networks are a practical reality even in the most demanding applications by using the GE Bently Nevada Insight.Mesh.  Read more

May 20, 2010 UK-based vibration energy harvesting specialists, Perpetuum Ltd is releasing The Perpetuum Free-Standing Harvester (PMG FSH), which claims to be a best-in-class integrated power solution that combines electromagnetic vibration energy harvesting technology with a selectable suit of energy charge, storage, and management options. Read more

May 18, 2010 STMicroelectronics has teamed with Micropelt GmbH, a young German company specializing in novel thin film thermoelectric devices, to jointly develop an autonomous wireless sensor evaluation kit. Read more

April 14, 2010 Powercast Corporation and Future Electronics have entered into a worldwide franchise distribution agreement which will see Future Electronics distribute Powercast’s full line of Powerharvester receivers and Powercaster transmitters. Read more

February 25, 2010 Ceramic components manufacturer, Morgan Technical Ceramics, (Stourport, UK) is undertaking a Shorter Knowledge Transfer Partnership (sKTP) project with Glyndwr University (Wrexham, Wales) which will last 26 weeks, is to design and build an energy harvesting demonstration system that will provide a renewable source of energy. Read more