According to a recent report published by Frost & Sullivan on Tuesday as part of its Technical Insights sector, titled Energy Harvesting Materials - The Road Ahead, the company found that several companies had begun showing interest in harvesting certain products for commercial renewable energy use.
However, despite the interest in gaining certain materials, the report found that widespread production of materials, such as substances that can be used in piezoelectric, electromagnetic, thermo-electric, and photovoltaic products had still not been attained.
"The design of a successful energy harvesting module depends not only on the material’s efficiency but also on the module architecture, which could be the critical factor defining effectiveness," said Krzysztof Grzybowski, an industry analyst for Technical Insights. "Developers must place equal emphasis on material development and smart utilization."
The study also found that environmental concerns had led to restrictions on some products consumption, deterring their ability to be utilized by companies. Among the materials that have restrictions on them are the lead composite zirconate titanate that is used in piezoelectric materials as well as cadmium telluride, a resource used in the production of colar cell applications.
