Mechanical, Thermal, and Environmental Energy Harvesting Solutions in Fully Electric and Hybrid Vehicles: Innovative Approaches and Commercial Systems
Energy harvesting in the automotive sector is a rapidly growing field aimed at improving vehicle efficiency and sustainability by recovering wasted energy. Various technologies have been developed to convert mechanical, thermal, and environmental energy into electrical power, reducing dependency on...
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MDPI AG
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Energies |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/8/1970 |
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| author | Giuseppe Rausa Maurizio Calabrese Ramiro Velazquez Carolina Del-Valle-Soto Roberto De Fazio Paolo Visconti |
| author_facet | Giuseppe Rausa Maurizio Calabrese Ramiro Velazquez Carolina Del-Valle-Soto Roberto De Fazio Paolo Visconti |
| author_sort | Giuseppe Rausa |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Energy harvesting in the automotive sector is a rapidly growing field aimed at improving vehicle efficiency and sustainability by recovering wasted energy. Various technologies have been developed to convert mechanical, thermal, and environmental energy into electrical power, reducing dependency on traditional energy sources. This manuscript provides a comprehensive review of energy harvesting applications/methodologies, aiming to trace the research lines and future developments. This work identifies the main categories of harvesting solutions, namely mechanical, thermal, and hybrid/environmental solar–wind systems; each section includes a detailed review of the technical and scientific state of the art and a comparative analysis with detailed tables, allowing the state of the art to be mapped for identification of the strengths of each solution, as well as the challenges and future developments needed to enhance the technological level. These improvements focus on energy conversion efficiency, material innovation, vehicle integration, energy savings, and environmental sustainability. The mechanical harvesting section focuses on energy recovery from vehicle vibrations, with emphasis on regenerative suspensions and piezoelectric-based solutions. Specifically, solutions applied to suspensions with electric generators can achieve power outputs of around 1 kW, while piezoelectric-based suspension systems can generate up to tens of watts. The thermal harvesting section, instead, explores methods for converting waste heat from an internal combustion engine (ICE) into electrical power, including thermoelectric generators (TEGs) and organic Rankine cycle systems (ORC). Notably, ICEs with TEGs can recover above 1 kW of power, while ICE-based ORC systems can generate tens of watts. On the other hand, TEGs integrated into braking systems can harvest a few watts of power. Then, hybrid solutions are discussed, focusing on integrated mechanical and thermal energy recovery systems, as well as solar and wind energy harvesting. Hybrid solutions can achieve power outputs above 1 kW, with the main contribution from TEGs (≈1 kW), compared to piezoelectric systems (hundreds of W). Lastly, a section on commercial solutions highlights how current scientific research meets the automotive sector’s needs, providing significant insights for future development. For these reasons, the research results aim to be guidelines for a better understanding of where future studies should focus to improve the technological level and efficiency of energy harvesting solutions in the automotive sector. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-cd3e242c82dc4aa1aae980f7372fcab5 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1996-1073 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Energies |
| spelling | doaj-art-cd3e242c82dc4aa1aae980f7372fcab52025-08-20T02:17:24ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732025-04-01188197010.3390/en18081970Mechanical, Thermal, and Environmental Energy Harvesting Solutions in Fully Electric and Hybrid Vehicles: Innovative Approaches and Commercial SystemsGiuseppe Rausa0Maurizio Calabrese1Ramiro Velazquez2Carolina Del-Valle-Soto3Roberto De Fazio4Paolo Visconti5Department of Innovation Engineering, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, ItalyDepartment of Innovation Engineering, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, ItalyFacultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Panamericana, Aguascalientes 20296, MexicoFacultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Panamericana, Zapopan 45010, MexicoDepartment of Innovation Engineering, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, ItalyDepartment of Innovation Engineering, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, ItalyEnergy harvesting in the automotive sector is a rapidly growing field aimed at improving vehicle efficiency and sustainability by recovering wasted energy. Various technologies have been developed to convert mechanical, thermal, and environmental energy into electrical power, reducing dependency on traditional energy sources. This manuscript provides a comprehensive review of energy harvesting applications/methodologies, aiming to trace the research lines and future developments. This work identifies the main categories of harvesting solutions, namely mechanical, thermal, and hybrid/environmental solar–wind systems; each section includes a detailed review of the technical and scientific state of the art and a comparative analysis with detailed tables, allowing the state of the art to be mapped for identification of the strengths of each solution, as well as the challenges and future developments needed to enhance the technological level. These improvements focus on energy conversion efficiency, material innovation, vehicle integration, energy savings, and environmental sustainability. The mechanical harvesting section focuses on energy recovery from vehicle vibrations, with emphasis on regenerative suspensions and piezoelectric-based solutions. Specifically, solutions applied to suspensions with electric generators can achieve power outputs of around 1 kW, while piezoelectric-based suspension systems can generate up to tens of watts. The thermal harvesting section, instead, explores methods for converting waste heat from an internal combustion engine (ICE) into electrical power, including thermoelectric generators (TEGs) and organic Rankine cycle systems (ORC). Notably, ICEs with TEGs can recover above 1 kW of power, while ICE-based ORC systems can generate tens of watts. On the other hand, TEGs integrated into braking systems can harvest a few watts of power. Then, hybrid solutions are discussed, focusing on integrated mechanical and thermal energy recovery systems, as well as solar and wind energy harvesting. Hybrid solutions can achieve power outputs above 1 kW, with the main contribution from TEGs (≈1 kW), compared to piezoelectric systems (hundreds of W). Lastly, a section on commercial solutions highlights how current scientific research meets the automotive sector’s needs, providing significant insights for future development. For these reasons, the research results aim to be guidelines for a better understanding of where future studies should focus to improve the technological level and efficiency of energy harvesting solutions in the automotive sector.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/8/1970energy harvestingautomotive energy recoveryelectromechanical harvestingthermal harvestingsolar energy recoveryautomotive commercial solutions |
| spellingShingle | Giuseppe Rausa Maurizio Calabrese Ramiro Velazquez Carolina Del-Valle-Soto Roberto De Fazio Paolo Visconti Mechanical, Thermal, and Environmental Energy Harvesting Solutions in Fully Electric and Hybrid Vehicles: Innovative Approaches and Commercial Systems Energies energy harvesting automotive energy recovery electromechanical harvesting thermal harvesting solar energy recovery automotive commercial solutions |
| title | Mechanical, Thermal, and Environmental Energy Harvesting Solutions in Fully Electric and Hybrid Vehicles: Innovative Approaches and Commercial Systems |
| title_full | Mechanical, Thermal, and Environmental Energy Harvesting Solutions in Fully Electric and Hybrid Vehicles: Innovative Approaches and Commercial Systems |
| title_fullStr | Mechanical, Thermal, and Environmental Energy Harvesting Solutions in Fully Electric and Hybrid Vehicles: Innovative Approaches and Commercial Systems |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mechanical, Thermal, and Environmental Energy Harvesting Solutions in Fully Electric and Hybrid Vehicles: Innovative Approaches and Commercial Systems |
| title_short | Mechanical, Thermal, and Environmental Energy Harvesting Solutions in Fully Electric and Hybrid Vehicles: Innovative Approaches and Commercial Systems |
| title_sort | mechanical thermal and environmental energy harvesting solutions in fully electric and hybrid vehicles innovative approaches and commercial systems |
| topic | energy harvesting automotive energy recovery electromechanical harvesting thermal harvesting solar energy recovery automotive commercial solutions |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/8/1970 |
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