The global economy is undergoing a paradigm shift set to be as profound as that brought about by the worldwide web, driven predominantly by the complementary trio of the IoT, DX (digital transformation) and AI.
As business, the world and our lives become ever more interconnected and digitalised, technological challenges remain. One of the most crucial of these is how to power the ever-growing number of connected devices and machines in a reliable, sustainable and secure way. Pioneering ultra-small and thin, low resistance, long-life, high capacity, rechargeable lithium-ion battery technology from Japan’s NGK Insulators, a leader in industrial ceramics, has the power to be a key solution.
Powering the future
With billions of new IoT devices expected to come online every year, DX to continue apace and the number of AI-driven business processes predicted to explode, powering this revolution while moving towards decarbonisation will be a major hurdle. As the potential of IoT continues to be realised, connected devices will be deployed in an expanding range of environments. These will include everything from high-temperature manufacturing facilities to remote locations to people’s homes and pockets. This will in turn create requirements for power sources that can withstand heat, don’t require regular replacement or conventional charging, and are lightweight, flexible and compact.
One of the persistent barriers to greater utilisation of IoT has been the reliance on either disposable batteries or power sources that require lengthy recharging via some form of wire or cord.
An answer to some of these challenges comes in the form of new solar technology from imaging and electronics giant Ricoh Group, which employs dye-sensitised panels to facilitate power generation even when light sources are very limited, such as inside buildings or vehicles. Gradually storing the energy generated and then having it available for release when needed calls for next-generation power sources, and Ricoh is using NGK’s EnerCera batteries in solar-powered products such as sensors.
That is just one example of the potential of energy harvesting tech, which can also produce power from small amounts of movement or even temperature differences. Energy harvesting has progressed rapidly in recent years, and offers a sustainable answer to the growing requirements for the power that digital transformation and the IoT era will require. As the technology continues to advance, the scope of viable connected devices and their functionality will expand in parallel, bringing increased convenience and all manner of benefits to peoples’ lives.
In logistics, demand is growing for tech that will allow goods to be tracked and monitored throughout their journeys as the industry moves towards DX. Chipmaker Renesas Electronics is developing ultra-low power consumption microcomputers that will utilise EnerCera batteries to enable GPS functionality for logistics operations. GPS is relatively power hungry, but these innovative batteries can deliver maintenance-free power from renewable energy sources. This also opens up the possibility in the future of monitoring individual packages to ensure that items such as food or wine, which can be sensitive to changes in their environment, will reach consumers in optimal condition.
And it is not only in industrial fields that these new technologies will have the power to transform. SMK Corporation is creating a range of devices, including remote controls for home appliances, which will eliminate the need for battery replacement and charging. Utilising energy harvesting, WPT (wireless power transmission) and EnerCera batteries, such devices will usher in an era of minimal maintenance for users while ramping up the potential for enhanced services and connectivity.
NGK Vice President Iwao Ohwada reports that the company is, “working on applications such as healthcare usage and smart shoes for various sports” and expects EnerCera batteries to be deployed in a wide range of fields in the future.
Applications unlimited
Over more than a century of innovation with ceramics, NGK has been utilising the full potential of the material based on its unique technologies: materials technology, analysis and evaluation technology, and production and processing technology. NGK is now leveraging – that technological knowhow for its ground-breaking EnerCera batteries to power connected devices to help propel the next step in digitalisation. In addition to being ultra-small and thin, flexible and high capacity, EnerCera batteries can operate efficiently in both low temperatures and heat of up to 105°C, and research is ongoing to take that figure even higher.
Wearable devices, RFID tags, smart keys, sensors and data transmitters are just a small portion of the tech that benefits from enhanced power sources as it becomes an increasingly integral element of sectors including mobility, logistics, energy, healthcare, smart homes and cities, finance, transport, security and our daily lives.
With the synergies between digital technology and enhanced power sources set only to deepen and broaden, there will surely be innovative applications that have yet to be imagined. And perhaps even entire new businesses and sectors that will flourish in this new era.
As digitalisation continues to change the world and how we live in it, NGK’s EnerCera batteries can contribute to ensuring the new technological infrastructure that will underpin this transformation is powered with peace of mind and without unnecessary maintenance. And through its unique ceramic technology, NGK is helping to ensure that shift happens in parallel with the creation of a carbon neutral society by making efficient use of renewable energy and the Earth’s finite resources.
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* EnerCera is a trademark of NGK Insulators, Ltd., registered in the U.S. and other countries.