From Guest Blogger Sophie Andersen: New Concept Tyre Turns Heat and Motion Into Electricity

Mass production of electric cars throughout the world gives way to innovative concepts in the fields of green energy and sustainable design. Having said that, we are still far from achieving low greenhouse-gas emission standards. In countries as California, which gets most of its power from green sources, the use of electric vehicles is highly beneficial to the environment.

Note: California isn’t a country, and I doubt most of the rest of this is true, but what the heck… 🙂  – ed

Unfortunately, this cannot be said for many other countries that are on the eco-friendly bandwagon. China and even Netherlands, for example, still get electricity from dirty power sources and will definitely miss the challenging target emission levels they set for 2020.

The point is that we are still a bit far from effectively utilizing electric cars on a global level. Still, innovations in the field are countless. We will focus here on an amazing concept that comes from Goodyear- a tyre that produces electricity on its own.

The Idea

Cars were a technological breakthrough in the field of transportation. However, since the only objective was to get from point A to point B, manufacturers did not pay much attention on wasting enormous amounts of energy in heat. They also ignored the potential sources of energy that surround the vehicle itself.

The Goodyear’s BHO3 tyres generate electricity by converting motion and heat into current as the tyre rolls. The product is a passive device attached to the tyre that is used to reduce friction, while at the same time acts as an electrical generator. This could easily solve the problem of range anxiety– a fear of losing electricity while driving far away from charging stations.

How Does it Work?

The BHO3 tyre is coated with an ultra-black texture that accumulates both heat and light. Since the tread is heat-absorbing, the tyre gets hotter through friction or by just sitting in the sun. It uses readily available energy sources, but that is just the easy part. The tricky part is converting the heat generated by the tyre into electricity.

The Process

This futuristic tyre is lined with a fishnet pattern which is made out of thermo/piezoelectric material. The net transforms heat gathered by the BHO into electricity. The piezoelectric material harvests energy directly from the tyres’ deformations achieved while driving. The problem of overheating is resolved by installing a cooling system in the sidewalls.

Bonus

Of course, there is logical cause for concern in a scenario that involves having a flat tyre. Fortunately, this was also addressed by the Goodyear team. The net has a bonus feature, a protective layer that acts as structural support. If the tyre is punctured it can continue to travel for an additional 50 mi at the speeds of 50 mph. What is more, the net also improves rolling resistance.

This is a great step toward truly achieving lower greenhouse-gas emission. There are, however, some things that are still a bit vague, such as the issue of connecting the tyre to the car’s electrical system and the very performance of the tyre itself. Although this is still just a concept, these kinds of tyres may be on our cars in no time.

For now, we can focus on using some existing eco-friendly tyres. I found that Tyreright has a lot in store, and strongly recommend their service to Australians such as myself. Think globally, act locally!

But let’s not stop at that. In the near future, you might find yourself unplugging your tyre from your vehicle before changing it- and that’s definitely something worth waiting for.