Back to home pageOUR IMPACT
Electrical energy is one of the most important resources for mankind, with nearly 27000 terawatt-hours used worldwide in 2022 alone. Countries are dependent on reliable electricity to ensure security for their citizens and propel economic growth.
Energy consumption has skyrocketed despite electricity production falling behind, making it harder to keep up with the demand thus instigating shortages. With the pace society advances, it becomes evident that systems will become more energy intensive.
Fossil fuels, hydroelectric energy, and nuclear energy rank highest for production. Even with fossil fuels and nuclear energy dispensing destructive byproducts, that likewise with dams for hydroelectric energy disrupt waterway ecosystems. Renewable energy sources though less damaging also take a toll on socio-economic factors with cost, long-term implementation, and spatial area required thus displacing indigenous communities. Renewable energy plants require 40-50x more space. Still, increased usage of renewable energy proves more sustainable than conventional means. This demand has yet to cause more funds towards renewable energy as a budget allocated has recently been declining diminishing opportunities to make the energy source more economical and available for more people.
This further promotes the need for more viable energy sources as current ones cannot have the advantages to compensate for the disadvantages. CO₂ emissions are accelerating, reaching closer to the 2-degree threshold. This will put the earth in an irreversible feedback loop that will prevent us from reverting to the original condition before mass emission storage therefore inducing more energy shortages along with food scarcity.
Like renewable energy, sound energy is omnipresent and never-ending but sadly also wasted. Many human processes, such as jet departures and traffic jams, store abundant amounts of sound. An innovation that reuses the otherwise wasted sound energy could help meet the energy demands while also reducing dependence on conventional means.
The target segments are local governments or businesses that require a constant stream of electrical energy to power machines and devices while having access to loud sounds around them. More specifically the target audience is comprised of organizations and firms in charge of airports and traffic on highways.
Airports and railway, highway, and metro management firms are our best target audience as both of their capital are sources of loud and continuous sound. The product could be employed by airports such as the Zurich Airport in Switzerland and Groningen Airport Eelde in the Netherlands which have carbon neutrality goals of 2040 and 2030 respectively.
These firms and organizations often have various appliances and apparatus under their management, such as lights and cameras. Thus they will need a device that can provide reliable energy, without requiring large costs or areas to construct and maintain. The energy produced should be significant, but it doesn’t need to be at the same levels as those of power plants, as the generators will be localized to the area they are needed in, instead of producing all the electricity in one area and then distributing it. This device will provide them with a reliable source of auxiliary power, allowing them to reduce energy costs.
A single device is estimated to produce 72 kWh when supplied with 120 decibels, which is equivalent to the sound of an airliner taking off.
Some airports can use 150 GWh of electricity annually and with increasing air traffic, electricity usage will likely only increase. If the airport were to employ only five of our devices, the airport could generate up to 3 GWh in a year, assuming our devices are used to their full potential. This would lead to a 2% reduction in energy usage. Yearly this could lead to a large portion of money saved. In the first half of 2024, the average price of 1 kilowatt hour of electricity in the EU was €0.1867. If this price is used then it can be determined that an airport could save up to €560,000 in a year.