Fires, earthquakes, tornadoes and floods. Disasters appear in all sorts of types. They also vary in time, and where they happen, the work of relief organizations can be challenging. Aid workers require power to aid those affected, whether to build temporary shelters and hospitals or locate survivors within the rubble.
Diesel generators are typically employed to perform the job. However, they require a constant fuel flow. What would it be if there were a method to ensure reliable power without the need for supply logistical issues? This is the concept behind the Zephyr Photovoltaic Balloon, which uses solar energy to generate power in a disaster area.
Engineer Karen Assaraf and designers Julie Dautel and Cedric Tomissi attended Le Laboratoire, the contemporary art and design center in central Paris, where they discussed “energy for the future” and competed in the Paris ArtScience Prize. Concentrating on situations that threatened life and required energy, The three students imagined an autonomous device that could be installed in remote locations to produce electricity. The idea grew into a sustainable generator.
Inspired by “flying objects” like kites and satellites, the group developed the Zephyr concept. It’s essentially a giant balloon capable of capturing solar energy and houses a base station inside a crate that can be carried around. The base is made up of three major parts that include an onboard computer, an air compartment, as well as a drawer to store the balloon as well as its cable for deployment.
This works: The case is transported to a disaster area. You immediately remove the balloon from the drawer, then open it on the ground to collect solar energy. Add water. Zephyr has an electrolyzer board that uses nine liters of water to generate hydrogen for inflating the balloon. The balloon is then attached to the base via the cable.
The team collaborated with the Institute for Research and Development of Photovoltaic Energy (IRDEP) to create the balloon. The balloon is constructed of a plastic hydrogen sail; the balloon is covered with thin films of copper, indium gallium, and selenide (CIGS), which absorbs sunlight. The balloon can travel up to 160 feet and is equipped with an electronic steering system that assures it is exposed to solar rays.
The electricity travels through the cable to the base, from where it’s stored in batteries that are high capacity. A transformer standardizedizes electrical power according to the specifications and distributes the muscle, making it possible for the production and use of energy to occur in the same place.
Zephyr’s creators believe each unit will provide power to heat and light the equivalent of 15 tents within a disaster zone and create a telecommunications system. The concept is being developed, but it’s already gaining increasing attention.
This year, the project won the Paris ArtScience Prize and ultimately was awarded the Challenge Humanitech 2014. Zepwas was also awarded the Entrepreneurial Pitch Day, hosted by HEC Paris, and EDF’s Challenge for Sharing Energy in the City, 2030.
The three students might not have thought of turning wine into water. However, turning water into electricity could be unique when catastrophe strikes.
The article was first released by the editor team of the XPRIZE, which creates and runs incentivized competitions that make radical breakthroughs to benefit humanity.