Energy in motion: An Upstate entrepreneur hopes to capture kinetic energy from roads as a renewable power source
Coal, gas, nuclear and… kinetic?
Rising energy costs could mean big gains – and saved lives – using one yet-untapped renewable energy source, according to Greenville-based entrepreneur Jim Nigg.
Nigg – now president and CEO of SC Launch firm Constructis – hopes to pioneer the fledgling kinetic energy industry with a series of patented trunk-sized modules that capture and store lost energy from moving vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians. For example, cars slowing down on an exit ramp represent huge amounts of lost energy, he said.
“While it’s not a cure-all… we can continue to push other alternatives,” said Nigg. “I cannot knock solar and wind for their applications, but kinetic has its place.”
Finally “a viable option”
Capturing kinetic energy is so new and rare that the U.S. Energy Information Administration doesn’t yet track its production or cost in the country. Meanwhile, the department keeps vigilant records of coal, natural gas, nuclear, geothermal, biomass, wind, offshore wind, solar, solar thermal and hydro sources.
“Nowhere in here is kinetic, and we’re doing interesting things with kinetic energy,” said Nigg. “I expect the Department of Energy to showcase this.”
Capturing and storing kinetic energy has historically been too difficult and cost-prohibitive to do on a large scale, said the 24-year international construction manager and licensed contractor. Though Nigg hit upon the idea more than two decades ago, he’s only recently been able to make the numbers work.
“Now that costs are continuing to go up, with our green energy push, this is a zero-carbon-emission product, and a resilient product at that,” he said.
Matt Baston of Taylors-based Yellow Root Design has worked extensively with Nigg on the project, and said while federal funds may be available for research, the idea has to be marketable and profitable first.
“All of this stuff is great, but if you don’t make dollars, it don’t make sense,” said Baston. “It’s just now got to be to the point where it’s a viable option.”
Life-saving potential
Working on sets of two, the 5-by-3-by-3-foot modules can be embedded in roadways, sidewalks, ramps and gate entrances, to name a few. The boxes have small protruding vertical ribs that depress down when vehicles roll over them, which allows kinetic energy to either be stored or immediately used, depending on the application.
The U.S. Federal Highway Administration limits rib height to 3/8 inches, but greater heights – and thus greater energy – could be captured with applications on construction sites and military bases.
A set of modules could produce between 10 to 95 kilowatts per day, depending on traffic intensity, Nigg said. Each set is projected to cost between $10,000 and $20,000 to build and install, though Nigg noted several different plans for covering installation costs and negotiating ownership and maintenance.
The modules could even save lives in military applications, Nigg said. Tanker convoys carrying fuel to military bases are primary targets, which means that generating energy on base would minimize the number of trucks needed to transport fuel across dangerous areas, Nigg said. “If we can do even five percent of a military base’s needs, we’re saving anywhere from five to 50 military lives.”
“This is our year”
The modules could have an application in third-world countries to replace breakable solar panels, he said. One thought was to attach a shaft lever that would allow families to generate their day’s energy needs with an hour of cranking.
“How do you maintain that? They have to be shipped out again if they break,” said Baston, who is also working on turning municipal waste to fuel with Greenville company D4 Energy Group. “There’s flaws with anything, and that’s why there’s not just one bullet.”
Founded in 2007, Constructis is in the prototype phase of development and could be testing a module as early as this summer, Nigg and Baston said. The company took another baby step in December when the South Carolina Research Authority accepted Constructis into its SC Launch program, which provides economic development, mentoring and other support services to early-stage startup technology firms. Nigg hopes to have 35 people working on the project by the end of 2015.
“The comparison right now would be to the Edison light bulb when you look at that first version of the unwieldy [invention],” Nigg said. “What’s it going to look like in three years? Lighter, smaller, tighter, better output, better materials, longevity, maintenance, components … Things are really locking down, moving into this year. This is our year.”
