A team consisting of researchers from the University of Istanbul and the young start-up company Devecitech has an interesting new development in the pipeline: a wind turbine. Okay, that alone wouldn’t be earth-shattering, after all we all know those leisurely spinning monsters that you keep spotting on the Autobahn in the far distance.
In the future, however, this source of renewable energy could move much closer, even to our inner cities. And as paradoxical as it sounds: the more traffic there is on the streets, the better. Not for the environment, but for the efficiency of the new facility that bears the name Enlil
was baptized.
Enough electricity for several households
Thanks to the small, vertically arranged turbines, the Enlil wind turbine is extremely compact and has nothing in common with its larger relatives on land. Instead, the intended place of use is the street. Because the wind generated by passing cars should be enough to Daily electricity consumption of two households
And since Enlil is so space-saving and can be set up as often as necessary, this number should quickly increase further. A lot of wind is generated by the vehicles, especially at bus stops or busy roads.
You can see what the new facility looks like in motion here:
link to YouTube content
Not only good for power generation:
According to the developers, attention was also paid to important aspects such as simple installation, maintenance and repairs. After all, such a system should not be easily accessible if it is in the middle of a main road. In terms of service life, Enlil is expected to serve for around 20 years.
What is the catch? It’s found pretty quickly. The startup Decevitech has already received a number of founder awards with its smart wind turbine, for example the Scottish one Climate Launchpad Urban Transition Award
. However, a financially strong investor is still missing to be able to handle cost-intensive international sales.
In addition, Enlil is still a pure prototype that has so far been tested mainly on the streets around Istanbul. But apparently with such great success that one would like to push the project further. On the official website you can register for news about the company and the small wind turbine.
So much for wind power. And what about solar energy? There is also an interesting new development there, viz Solar cells from a conventional printer. And they give an electric car a lot of steam under the butt:
How would you find such facilities in the city center? A useful supplement to the existing power generation or unnecessary ballast blocking the roads? Is there a technology to which you attribute greater potential for urban areas? Let us know what you think about this topic in the comments!
