AMSTERDAM, September 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
Dutch architect and scientists deliver proof of principle for what started years ago with the question "Can we get energy from gravity?"
The invention can now lead to a sustainable home energy generator.
Over the past 6 months, architect Janjaap Ruijssenaars (Universe Architecture, Amsterdam) and scientists from VIRO in Hengelo (NL) have been working on the physical evidence. As was expected based on earlier calculations, gravity combined with mechanical instability greatly improved the efficiency of the technique that turns mechanical pressure into electricity, the so-called piezoelectricity. The high increase in efficiency opens the door for a new type of energy generator.
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160926/412014 )
In a video interview with Reuters, Ruijssenaars said: "I tried to think of how one could have gravity present in one moment and not present in the next. Because with change one can generate electricity." The broadcast of the Reuters item on international TV stations caught the attention of energy investors. Already 10% of the shares of Gravity Energy, the Amsterdam-based company that will license the patented invention, were purchased by Angel investor Jeroen van den Hamer, who said: "The high efficiency in comparison to existing sustainable methods such as wind turbines and solar panels caught our attention. This could be a game changer."
The idea: By unbalancing a weight, gravitational energy becomes available as extra input into a piezo generator. A gentle breeze is enough to generate electricity. The remaining energy, that was stored in the piezo spring, can be used to bring the weight back into its unstable equilibrium position. This is the essence of the idea, with an ideal energy efficiency of 80% per cycle.
Ruijssenaars, who is excited over the now proven invention and its high efficiency, firmly rejects the notion of a perpetuum mobile, since an input energy is always needed. Because the principle of the invention can be applied on a small and large scale, Ruijssenaars also sees possibilities for improving existing energy generating systems.
See explanatory video on Gravity Energy website: http://www.gravityenergy.nl/#video
First publication on theory of invention, end of 2015: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/finally-efficient-energy-from-gravity-560784991.html
Info:
http://www.universearchitecture.com
Extra:
Reuters item: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_KG91PVYtA
TV broadcasts:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBIghZwP-x4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i84EH93u8f0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SN-Fr3VMV1I
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