Three factors are reaching a tipping point to open up new vistas in Energy Harvesting: cheaper, smaller, long-lasting batteries; Super low power CPUs and digital signal processors; and innovations in the energy harvesting devices themselves. Benefits range from the convenience of eliminating wiring clutter and frequent battery replacement, to the enabling of new applications where prohibitive wiring or battery costs are avoided altogether.
The cost of finding and replacing batteries at frequent intervals for small devices such as wireless sensors and building & industrial controls is a challenge. Scavenging energy from the environment is becoming more attractive. There are over 500 products based on perpetually powered technologies ranging from simple light switches, which are powered by simply pressing the switch, to more complex devices that measure the integrity of the rotating blades on military helicopters. It is estimated that this segment of the market alone will yield an approximate $1.2B opportunity by 2014.
Growth in renewable energy itself will drive increased demand for energy storage capacity. Batteries represent about a $39B market, which will grow to $50B over the next five years; with rechargeable batteries leading the way. Energy harvesters are one approach in charging these batteries.
The military, security and aerospace industries with a projected market potential of over $1B, heavily rely on electronics that require field power where there are no convenient outlets for recharging batteries. In the battlefield soldiers use portable electronic systems, which can include communications equipment, thermal sights, night-vision goggles, GPS and portable or laptop computers. All of this equipment needs a lightweight and long lasting source of power. Our featured presenter shares exactly such a solution with us, with a product that harvests ambient energy generated by human motion.
Enhancing energy and power capacity in mobile and consumer devices may be the inflection point in guiding energy harvesting from a niche market into the mainstream “high volume” consumer market. Other possible use cases may include perpetually powered devices for monitoring traffic and road conditions, or sniffing out pesticides and other toxins. “Is there a new App for that?”
Rex Northen, Executive Director of the Cleantech Open
The Cleantech Open is the world’s largest clean technology business competition. As founder and CEO of technology companies in both Europe and the United States, Rex is an entrepreneur with a long history of building and managing technology companies and successful teams. He has worked with hundreds of diverse companies, ranging from startups to global corporations. Rex has led the Cleantech Open since January 2009, overseeing the growth of the California-based nonprofit from its Bay Area roots to a national organization with regional operations based in Silicon Valley, Seattle, Denver, Minneapolis and Boston. He has also directed the establishment of the Global Cleantech Open in partnership with the Kauffman Foundation. Northen holds an M.A. from the University of Oxford.
Presenter:
Yad Garcha, CEO, BionicPower
Yad Garcha is founder, director and CEO of Bionic Power. Mr. Garcha’s venture-capital background spans nearly two decades in the biotech, medical device, and pharmaceutical sectors. A former senior vice-president at GrowthWorks Capital, Mr. Garcha also worked at the Business Development Bank of Canada. As a VC, Mr. Garcha backed Angiotech, Anormed (sold to Genzyme) and Creo Products (sold to Kodak). Mr. Garcha earned a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology from the University of British Columbia, and an MBA from the University of Western Ontario.
Panelists:
Dr. Cyril Vančura, Investment Director, Robert Bosch Venture Capital
Cyril Vančura is an Investment Director at Venture Capital (RBVC) unit of Robert Bosch LLC based in Palo Alto. He focuses on finding investment opportunities for RBVC in North America, technical evaluations, and technical due diligence. Before joining RBVC, Cyril was at the Reseach and Technology Center of Robert Bosch in Palo Alto, where he worked on novel MEMS processes, power harvesting for autonomous systems, and photovoltaic technologies. Prior to this, Cyril conducted research in the field of CMOS-based MEMS sensors for biological and chemical applications during his Ph.D. thesis. Cyril holds a Ph.D. and a diploma (masters) in physics from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, Switzerland.
Robert Andosca, Founder & CTO, MicroGen Systems
Mr. Robert Andosca (www.linkedin.com/in/randosca) is the Founder, President and CTO of MicroGen Systems, Inc., located in Ithaca, NY at the Cornell Business and Technology Park. MicroGen is developing a patent-pending MicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS) based piezoelectric vibrational energy harvester (PZEH) micro-power generator.
Mr. Andosca’s professional experience ranges from operational to technical management, business development, and the design and development of MEMS and semiconductor products. Mr. Andosca has held senior level positions at the Infotonics Technology Center, Lilliputian Systems, Umicore, Corning IntelliSense/IntelliSense, Clare Corporation and Lockheed Martin. Mr. Andosca will complete his Ph.D. on energy harvesting from The University of Vermont (UVM) in Materials Science (expected 2012). He holds an M.S. in Materials Science from UVM, and B.S. degrees in Mathematics/Physics from USNH, Keene State College.
Dr. Ahmad Baghai Dowlatabadi, Founder & CEO, Aivaka
Ahmad is the founder of Aivaka. He has over 20 years of experience in the field of analog, power management and RF systems. He has led research and product development activities in various areas in both large publicly traded and small private firms. Currently Ahmad and his team are focused on producing power management solutions for energy harvesting and ultra low-power electronic devices where efficiency is the most important criteria. He holds a Ph.D. from Georgia Tech, is a registered Professional Engineer (PE) in State of California, and is Senior Member of IEEE. He has been a member of various technical IEEE conferences and journals, and has been published in IEEE publications.
Nicholas Fowler, Chairman & CEO, Perpetua Power Source Technologies
Mr. Fowler is a technology veteran, entrepreneur, and angel investor. Spanning 25 years with Hewlett-Packard, Mr. Fowler managed global businesses, developed company strategies, and led the creation of major new businesses including notebook computers, PDAs, printing services, and Internet sales and support. Following his HP career, Mr. Fowler established Orion Ventures and Corvallis Venture Group, seed stage investment funds. Mr. Fowler is Chairman and CEO of Perpetua Power, a thermoelectric power startup; Executive Chairman of ZAPS Technologies, a spectrophotometric startup; and CEO of Advanced Material Recovery, innovator in membranes for energy storage and desalination. Mr. Fowler sits on the Boards of several businesses as well as charitable organizations. Mr. Fowler holds a B.A. in Economics and an M.S. in Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management from Stanford University.
Online registrations are now closed
A few tickets will be available at 6pm at the door depending on availability
