At present, there are more than 40 million EVs on the road worldwide; a significant jump from 26 million in 2022 reinforcing the increasing commitment toward cleaner and sustainable transportation. 

That said, widespread adoption of EVs isn’t free from roadblocks, primarily centred around their limited driving range, unsustainable EV battery recycling, and inadequate charging infrastructure. 

DEOGAM, a South Korean company has recently introduced a groundbreaking EV battery technology to address the challenges mentioned above and revolutionize energy generation in electric vehicles. 

This article highlights DEOGAM’s recent breakthrough, a potential game-changer for extended range in EVs. 

DEOGAM Set to Introduce EV Batteries that Convert Waste Energy to Usage Power

DEOGAM has recently rolled out a path-breaking battery technology that leverages energy harvesting to generate power using ambient sources including heat, light, and the environment. 

While the core principle behind the company’s battery is electric energy recycling, it captures energy from external surroundings by using smart engineering practices and advanced materials via photovoltaic cells, piezoelectric elements, and thermoelectric generators. 

While experts believed that this innovation was initially introduced to accelerate the charging of electric buses, it aims to capture and reuse energy typically lost while travelling, paving the way for efficient and extended EV battery life. 

DEOGAM is Currently Testing Its Battery Tech in Jeju, South Korea

The latest reports suggest that DEOGAM is currently testing the performance and efficiency of its cutting-edge EV battery in around 500 Hyundai Ioniq 5 taxis in Jeju. If things go as planned, the company will launch the tech in the European Union (EU) in April 2025. 

Apart from disrupting proceedings in the electric vehicles landscape, DEOGAM’s technology could potentially find other applications including in smartphones, IoT devices, and wearable tech. 

For example, this technology can potentially be used to generate energy from a user’s body heat and movement to power fitness trackers and smartwatches. Additionally, these batteries could also make their way into smart home and IoT devices minimizing the need for continuous EV battery replacements. 

According to DEOGAM, it will start integrating its energy-harvesting batteries in consumer products by the end of 2026. 

Energy Harvesting Tech: What is It?  

Energy harvesting has emerged as one of the appealing solutions to tackle the current challenges linked with electric vehicles. As things stand, it presents a multibillion-dollar opportunity to forward-thinking players in the automotive energy landscape. 

One of the most glaring opportunities one can think of with energy harvesting is improving the driving range by strategically utilizing wasted energy from sources including ambient light, vibrations, and heat. 

Energy harvesting will allow EV owners to capture and generate electrical power from these energy sources, which will boost efficiency and the driving range without solely depending on external charging stations. 

In short, it will clear the path for self-sufficient EVs and long-distance travel. 

Additionally, energy harvesting will also play a key role in minimizing frequent charging which in turn could extend the battery life, tackling one of the primary concerns linked with the adoption of EVs worldwide. 

Lithium Iron Phosphate Batteries Could Soon Run Out of Power?

For example, recent findings by a group of Austrian researchers at the Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) suggest that lithium ions, if utilized optimally, can provide 25% extra power in EV batteries. 

The research, aimed at understanding the root cause of why lithium iron phosphate (LFP) was underperforming or wasn’t able to reach its theoretical capacity. 

The research highlights that a few lithium ions cannot reach their full potential since they are trapped in the cathode’s crystal lattice even when the EV battery is fully charged, resulting in a 25% reduced capacity. 

Will Energy Harvesting Gain Mainstream Adoption in the EV Sector?

As the calls for sustainable and clean transportation grow louder, there is little doubt that energy harvesting will attract significant attention in the upcoming years. While energy harvesting has been around since the 1800s, its adoption in the automotive industry, particularly, electric vehicles has gained momentum recently. 

Regenerative Braking

Researchers across the world have consistently introduced new ideas and concepts that could soon make their way into the EV space in the future. 

For example, regenerative braking has recently garnered considerable attention as an efficient way to recover energy, especially for EVs in urban areas. Apart from extending the driving range, it offers significant promise to boost efficiency. 

Harvesting Energy from Vibrations of Passing Vehicles

While the thought of harvesting energy from the vibrations of passing vehicles including trucks, buses, and cars seemed like a distant dream a few years ago, the idea is transitioning into real-world applications. 

ElectReon, an Israeli company is currently working on an in-road inductive charging system that could potentially generate energy to power EVs from copper coils beneath the asphalt. The idea is to transfer energy from an electric grid to the road and manage communication with vehicles via a management unit. 

The company rolled out an e-bus in Germany that could charge itself thanks to the country’s first wireless electric road system. 

Similarly, innovative companies like Elonroad (Sweden) and Underground Power (Italy) are developing solutions that can turn roads into reliable and affordable EV charging infrastructure. 

Wrap Up

DEOGAM’s EV battery offers promise and could set the tone for energy-harvesting solutions. At a time when manufacturers and other stakeholders in the value chain are under pressure to minimize waste and adopt sustainable practices, energy harvesting could extend vehicle range and revolutionize energy efficiency. 

Collaboration between governments and private companies along with innovative inventions will dictate the course of the EV market in the future.