WO2011151677A1

WO2011151677A1 - Solar powered highways

Info

Publication number: WO2011151677A1
Application number: PCT/IB2010/054227
Authority: WO
Inventors: K.C. Somaratna
Original assignee: Somaratna K C
Priority date: 2010-05-31
Filing date: 2010-09-19
Publication date: 2011-12-08

Abstract

This invention relates to a solution that prevents global warming due to (1) green house effects arising from burning of fossil fuels for road vehicular transportation, and (2) non-utilization of solar energy incident on the highways by laying solar panels along and/or above highways and connecting these panels to battery charging stations which are placed at a reasonable distance from each other to either (a) charge batteries of battery electric vehicles or hybrid electric vehicles, or pluggable hybrid electric vehicles and these batteries charged thereby to be exchanged for spent batteries of battery electric vehicles or hybrid electric vehicles or pluggable hybrid electric vehicles(i) which drive into the charging station or (ii) which drive into a different station or (b) charge in-situ the battery fixed into a battery electric vehicle or into a hybrid electric vehicle or into a pluggable hybrid electric vehicle.

Description

Title of Invention: SOLAR POWERED HIGHWAYS

Technical Field

This invention relates to any of the following areas.

Energy for transportation; Use of highways for value adding purposes; Mechanisms to prevent global warming due to road transportation; Application of solar panels as a provider of renewable energy for road transportation; Mechanism for prevention of air pollution due to road transportation; Mechanism for compensation for negative impacts of construction of highways.

Background Art

This invention claims priority over Sri Lankan patent application number LK/ P/l/15823 dated May 31, 2010.

Disclosure of Invention

Technical- Problem

Fossil fuels provide the energy needs of most of the industrial sectors world wide and transportation is one such sector where the use of fossil fuel has very significant negative impacts on the environment as follows.

• The internal combustion engine (ICE) within which the fuel is combusted is a highly inefficient energy converter, thus wasting scarce natural resources.

• The products of combustion exits the energy conversion chamber at a very high temperature.

• Even after heat exchanges with cooling water and air, the exhaust gases leave at more than lOOC at a very low elevation which is typically less than 6 ft.

• All these take place in a highly distributed network at millions of locations which themselves are moving.

• The flue gases from the vehicles do contain the major greenhouse gas C02.

• Road transportation in its current form of fossil fuel driven vehicles has also led to clearing of large expanses of forests or vegetation which has brought in two negative impacts on the global environment. One is that C0₂ - the major green house gas- absorption by vegetation is lost and the other is that solar energy absorption by vegetation for photosynthesis is also lost.

As such road transportation using fossil fuel driven vehicles contribute to global warming in a way which makes it extremely difficult to arrest.

On the other hand global fossil fuel resources themselves are dwindling and at least one estimate puts the fossil fuel availability to exhaust in less than 50 years. Therefore the global community has been looking at alternative sources of renewable energy for powering road transportation.

There have been many attempts at addressing the question of alternative sources of energy for road transportation and almost all these are discussed and evaluated in two major reports as follows:

• Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change Report 4 of 2007 which has a separate chapter devoted to transportation.

• World Energy Councils Report titled 'Transport Technologies and Policy Scenarios to 2050'

These two have identified the following alternative solutions for the problems of green house gas emissions/exhaustion of fossil fuels related to transportations.

• Biofuels - liquid fuels obtained from renewable material - lignocelluloses, sugar/starch crops, oil plants, etc.

• Hydrogen fuel cells where hydrogen is obtained either from electrolysis of water or from natural gas.

• Compressed natural gas

• Coal to liquid fuels

• Gas to liquid fuels

• Hybrid electric vehicles powered by both electricity and fossil fuel

• Hybrid electric vehicles which are plugged in type

• Pure battery electric vehicles

Out of these options, first five options would still be producing greenhouse gases, generating waste heat in products of combustion, and would not be absorbing any solar energy falling on the highway. In respect of hybrid electric vehicles, the amount of greenhouse gases and waste heat generated will be dependent to a certain extent on the ratio in which the fossil fuel and electricity would contribute to the total tractive force. In case of the pure battery electric vehicles, the greenhouse gases are not generated at the site of the vehicle but at the site where electricity is generated and the amount of greenhouse gases and waste heat generated depends on the ratio in which the different types of fuels contribute to the generation of electricity used for charging.

Even in instances where tractive force for the vehicle is completely or partially obtained from a source of electric energy (eg. battery) these batteries are currently charged by electricity provided by a source of electrical energy situated elsewhere and using most often a nonrenewable source of energy. As a result the true benefit in way of reduced green house gas emission is dependent on the overall ratio of nonrenewable source of energy contribution to the particular source of electricity.

As such there is no evidence, upto now, of a solution which eliminates totally the greenhouse gases and waste heat generation arising from road vehicular transportation nor of a solution which would absorb a part of the solar radiation falling on the highways and converting into electricity thereby preventing that portion from contributing to global warming.

Been concerned about this state of affairs in the global environmental scenario, the applicant has been working on developing a method for Zero Emission Transportation since 2007 and has come out with an invention which would address each one of the six issues mentioned above. It is the applicant's opinion that this solution will bring the following benefits to the global environment in respect of the six points in Section 5 above.

It will eliminate the inefficient combustion of this scarce non-renewable fossil fuel resource; leaving it for more efficient combustion or use as a scarce raw material for the petro-chemical industry.

• There will be no products of combustion to heat up the air

• There will be no exhaust gases leaving at 100 °C

• There will be no distributed pollution by way of gaseous effluents and heat

• There will be no flue gases been emitted with green house gas C0_2.

In addition to these the solution offered by the applicant will also absorb and convert at least 10% of solar radiation falling on the highway thereby more than offsetting for lost solar energy absorption for photosynthesis which is quoted to lie between 1.5% to 8 % of energy falling on the vegetation.

Technical- Solution

Having considered the contribution of road transportation to global warming, the Applicant has come out with a solution to powering road transportation as follows

• Lay solar panels above and/or along the highway

• Connect these solar panels to electric vehicle battery charging stations situated along the highway at a reasonable distance from each other

• Use the electric energy derived from solar panels to charge batteries of

electric vehicles.

• This charging could be in-situ charging of a battery fixed into a vehicle or of a battery lying in the station to be exchanged for a spent battery of a vehicle which drives in.

• Stationary batteries charged in this fashion will be exchanged for spent

batteries in vehicles which drive into the battery charging station.

• This solution can be implemented in a number of ways as differentiated

below.

• Method of laying the panels.

• Exact location: Above the highway or on the sides of the highway

• Orientation: (i) It may be parallel to the highway, (ii) It may be at a constant angle to the highway, (iii) It may be at a varying angle to the highway

• Continuity: It may be continuous or non-continuous

• The type and size of solar panel

• The solar panels could be of any type and any size as

suitable for the different methods of laying of panels mentioned above

• The connectivity for charging of batteries

• The panels could be connected for the purpose of battery charging as per the processes which are practiced to-day and/or as per processes to be developed in the future, or the panels could be connected to a charging mechanism which would provide for charging batteries fixed into a vehicle.

• Point of time of laying

• The solar panels could be laid either when the highway is being built or after the highway is built.

• Mode of erection

• The panels may be erected using any type of structural components, (a) made out of any type of steel, (b) made out of GI or wrought iron or other metal like aluminum(c) made out of wood, (d) made of concrete or other cement containing material, (e) made out of plastic or reinforced plastic.

• The structure may be either (a) cantilevered, or (b) supported at both ends, and/or (c) at somewhere in between, or (d) vertical.

Advantageous Effects

As mentioned in the section on background to this invention this would bring the following benefits to the relevant stakeholders.

• Society, Global Community, All living beings - flora & fauna

• Rate of increase in level of global warming as measured by increase in level of green house gas concentration in the atmosphere due to Road Transportation during the operational phase will be reduced as there will be no exhaust gases

• Rate of increase in atmospheric temperature within 5 meters from the surface of the earth due to Road Transportation will be reduced as there will be no exhaust gases

• Impact of exhaust gases from road vehicles on the health of humans would be eliminated

• The dust generated by road vehicles will also be reduced

• Rate of increase in atmospheric temperature due to solar energy absorption will be reduced

• There would be a continuous, inexhaustible, renewable source of energy to power road transportation

• Users of Electric Vehicles

• They can enjoy their drives without concern about the availability of charge in the battery as they can get them replaced by a charged battery or recharged in-situ

• Their cost per kilometer would be equal to or less than for a fossil fuel driven vehicles

• They would not have any guilt that their travelling contributes to the global warming, atmospheric pollution

• Their electric energy consumption for vehicle air conditioning and wipers may be less

• They would have a continuous, inexhaustible, renewable source of energy to power their vehicles

• National Governments of net fossil fuel importing countries

• The import bill of fossil fuel would be less

• Creation of employment and alleviation of poverty in the country

• Manufacturers of Electric vehicles, Solar Panels, vehicle Batteries, Infrastructure Components

• They would have a significant increase in their sales and could feel happy about the contribution they could make to resolve global warming

• All nations, public sector entities in charge of power and energy and environment in different countries

• They will have a mechanism of providing energy for road trans- portation without worsening global warming situation

• Automobile engineers, companies

• They could start converting the current fossil fuel driven vehicles into solar powered battery driven vehicles and create lot of employment

Mode for Invention

Any person, company, organization willing to reduce the global warming due to road transportation could implement the process subjected to this patent by laying solar panels above and/or along the highway. The panels will be connected to battery charging stations situated at a reasonable distance from each other. The stations would have (a) charging mechanisms of whatever make or type either for in-situ charging of batteries fixed into a vehicle or for charging a stationary battery lying in the station (b) battery exchanging mechanism, (c) meters to measure the charges available in the spent battery and the recharged battery sold and (d) meters to measure the charge transferred to an in-situ battery, (e) a software system to issue an accurate bill taking these charge quantities into account for the driver to settle.

The structures holding the panels and the mechanism of fixing the panels shall be such that these panels and structures shall be able to withstand the appropriate wind forces relevant to the location. Any extra recharged batteries could be transported to other locations just like how fossil fuel or gas cylinders are transported by road vehicles to-day. These extra recharged batteries could also be stored and maintained for those periods of the year when adequate solar energy is not captured at the particular location.

Industrial Applicability

This process covered by this patent can be applied at along a highway or part thereof where there is adequate space for the installation of a reasonable stretch of solar panels.

As such the process could be applied at longer stretches of highways by larger companies or national governments and at shorter stretches by smaller companies.

The process would have tremendous opportunities for highly beneficial implementation in countries where there is a reasonable or better sunny climate.

Claims

A battery charging system for vehicles comprising solar power conversion mechanisms installed along roadways.

A battery charging system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the said system is either stationary or mobile.

A battery charging system as claimed in claims 1 and 2 wherein the said system is comprising solar panels installed along and above the highways horizontally.

A battery charging system as claimed in claims 1 and 2 wherein the said system is comprising solar panels installed along and above the highways at a constant angle to the horizontal.

A battery charging system as claimed in claims 1 and 2 wherein the said system is comprising solar panels installed along and above the highways at a variable angle to the horizontal.

A battery charging system as claimed in claims 1 and 2 wherein the said solar panels are installed adjacent to the roadway with plane of solar panel installed horizontally, or at an angle, or vertical and parallel to the highway, or vertical and at an angle to the roadway.

A battery charging system as claimed per any matching combination of claims 1 through 6 wherein the said system has battery charging stations for in-situ charging of batteries of Battery Electric Vehicles

(BEV).

A battery charging system as claimed per any matching combination of claims 1 through 6 wherein the said system has battery charging stations for in-situ charging of batteries of Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEV).

A battery charging system as claimed per any matching combination of claims 1 through 6 wherein the said system has battery charging stations for in-situ charging of batteries of Pluggable Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV).

A battery charging system as claimed per any matching combination of claims 1 through 6 wherein the said system is for charging appropriate stationary batteries to be swapped for the batteries of either BEV or HEV or PHEV at the charging station itself.

A battery charging system as claimed per any matching combination of claims 1 through 6 wherein the said system is for charging appropriate stationary batteries to be swapped for the batteries of either BEV or HEV or PHEV at locations other than the battery charging station.