Roadbed tribological energy harvester.

Abstract

Roadbed tribological energy (RTE) is a promising recoverable resource with an estimated potential on the terawatt scale, generated annually by the interaction between tires and road surfaces. However, RTE remains underutilized due to the lack of effective energy harvesting technologies that can address its high-entropy characteristics. Here, we present a revolutionary harvester formed by a freestanding layer triboelectric nanogenerator array embedded in the road. The harvester effectively converts low-grade vibratory RTE into electrical energy. It demonstrates the potential to achieve a peak power of 16.409 milliwatts and an average power of 2.2 milliwatts from a compact 78-square centimeter road area under a single tire impact, with a triboelectric conversion efficiency of 11.723%. In addition, we developed a self-powered intelligent and connected transportation system (SP-ICTS), integrating a five-in-one harvesting array. Experimental findings show that the system can meet the SP-ICTS's electricity requirements along a 1-kilometer segment with a 50-meter harvester.