The Power of Design: Product Innovation in Sustainable Energy Technologies

F.2 Background

One of the solution directions in this case study is to solve current mobility problems by making use of technology developments. Emerging technologies could be applied to create an artifact or system that uses clean and quiet nonrenewable energy sources. The term clean here is contextual, and in most cases starts with being local emission free and with other emissions being controllable at the source such as at the production plant.

The Rechargeable battery technology is the most commonly used technology as of today, next to the ICE; it is applied in the vehicle industry to achieve the objectives discussed here. Currently, battery-powered electric vehicles (BEVs) are introduced in different fields of transportation, especially in places where air and noise pollution are to be avoided. Examples include forklift trucks, automatic guided vehicles in plants, and electric trains in mines. Recreational vehicles on golf courses and other sport arenas are well-known applications of BEVs as well. The battery technology is a proven technology with one limitation: long charging times. As battery performance improves, the performance of BEVs improves (Rand et al., 2005). The upcoming vehicle propulsion technology that addresses the problems of nonrenewable energy source consumption, emissions, and noise is the fuel cell (FC) technology. The FC technology could play an advanced role in lightweight constructions and energy storage technologies (Hwang et al., 2005). Until now, ...