Creodyne Wins $150,000 Award For BioInspired Wind Power Development

Online, June 24, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Creodyne, LLC, announced today the award of $150,000 from the National Science Foundation to develop technology that uses shapes and engineering concepts inspired by nature to harvest wind energy on a mid-sized scale. Plants have been interacting with wind for perhaps 400 million years and, consequently, architectural and mechanical features have evolved that absorb, dissipate, and spill wind energy. Creodyne is testing the possibility that repetitive bending motions of plants in wind streams can be converted to useful levels of electrical energy, while leaving a small carbon footprint. To this end, energy converters made of flexible piezoelectric materials are being inserted at motional nodes within the branches and stems of model plants, and once the principle is established, in bionic plants.

Michael McCloskey, Ph.D., and Eric Henderson, Ph.D., both on the faculty at Iowa State University, have teamed up to carry out a focused R&D plan. A key milestone is to produce convincing evidence that biomimetic shapes can generate enough electricity, and in the proper format, to charge batteries and energize small devices. "Piezoelectric, radio frequency, and thermal energy converters are already used to scavenge ambient energy to self-power autonomous wireless networks that consume energy on a micro-scale", says McCloskey. "Our goal is to bridge the energy gap between wind-turbines and tiny energy scavengers. Novel methods of increasing piezoelectric harvesting efficiency are necessarily under study to tap the energy of low-frequency motion in plants."

"Mike has set some appropriately ambitious goals", commented Henderson. He continued, "In my experience, a winning technology development strategy requires some level of demonstrated real world utility early on. This project is particularly important to me as the world approaches an era of severe energy shortages, so we intend to push the envelope to fully vet the concept".