According to a recent announcement, BRIDG, an industry-led public-private partnership for advanced technologies and manufacturing processes, is set to collaborate with Face International Corporation for the development and integration of a patented energy-harvesting technology: the Evercell power cell.
The Evercell technology is designed to harvest thermal energy in any environment where the ambient temperature is above absolute zero to generate the microwatts of electrical power needed to run wireless IoT sensors without the need for batteries. Evercell power cells reportedly are inexpensive to produce, consume no fuel, have no moving parts, and contain no toxic materials. According to company officials, an Evercell demonstration device has been operating continuously for 16 months with undiminished performance, producing enough electrical output to power a typical wireless sensor.
“In driving the continued expansion of the IoT, the Evercell technology has the potential to be to batteries what the light bulb was to candles and oil lamps,” said Dan Holladay, Director, Strategic Partnerships, BRIDG. “The cost, inconvenience, and inaccessibility associated with battery replacement make them impractical as a power source for many of the IoT sensor applications. The promise of the Evercell technology could address an unmet annual demand for tens of billions of IoT devices relying on batteries that otherwise could not be deployed.”
The energy harvesting power cell was developed and patented by Face International Corporation, a technology company with more than 60 patents. As part of the collaboration to commercialize the Evercell technology, BRIDG and Face intend to cooperatively undertake technology validation for product integration development and prototype manufacturing of Evercell power cells at its NeoCity campus, with the goal to achieve mass production by 2019.
“BRIDG will be able to assist Face with its capabilities to provide continued development and assist in creating solutions to overcome the manufacturing demand for Evercell,” Holladay said. “This could include coordinating efforts to optimize the Evercell technology into IoT devices and facilitating necessary patent licensing to satisfy IoT demand.”
The collaboration could result in the development of the initial prototype manufacturing line for the Evercell power cells at the BRIDG facility located in NeoCity, a 500-acre technology district in Osceola County, Florida. BRIDG operates a manufacturing facility focused on semiconductor-based processes for smart sensors, photonic technologies, and next-generation integrated devices to enable innovative breakthroughs for industry partners serving government and commercial markets.
Ken Briodagh is a writer and editor with more than a decade of experience under his belt. He is in love with technology and if he had his druthers would beta test everything from shoe phones to flying cars.Edited by
Ken Briodagh
