Project description
Big plans for the mini energy harvester
To satisfy the increasing demand for energy-efficient systems, harvesting ambient energy as an alternative power source is important. Miniature energy harvesting technologies could power currently battery-operated wireless electronics and portable devices. The EU-funded MEANINGFUL project is working to provide a low-cost renewable energy source for billions of connected ultra-low power sensors located indoors. The Lightricity miniaturised photovoltaic energy harvesting technology has already demonstrated up to six times more power density (under indoor light) than the conventional Silicon-based technology. The project will develop physical prototypes and conduct technical feasibility and market research. As regards commercialisation, the strongest pull comes from retail, industrial Internet of Things (IoT) and smart cities.
Objective
Title of Proposal: “Miniaturised Energy harvester for AutoNomous INdustrial, Global retail and FUture smart-city appLications”
Acronym: MEANINGFUL
The MEANINGFUL project will establish the feasibility of using Lightricity’s miniaturised (mm^2 range) Photovoltaic Energy harvesting (EH) patented-technology as a cost-effective renewable energy source for the billions of connected ultra-low power sensors that will be located indoors. Lightricity has already demonstrated up to 6x more power density (under indoor light) than conventional Silicon-based technology, on the macro-scale (~10cm^2 EH devices). The key innovations will be on extreme miniaturisation, implementation of cost-down processes and integration with complementary ultra-low power electronics and sensors.
On the technical side, we will focus on the mass-manufacturability of ultra-high efficient micro-scale EH components and on their 3D compact integration with ultra-low quiescent power management chip-sets, rechargeable storage elements (Lithium-free storage) and ultra-low power embedded microcontrollers (incl. ARM Cortex MCUs) for sensing and RF connectivity. The objective is to achieve the sellable product stage as soon as possible, by offering an ultra-compact, efficient and low-cost battery-less solution.
On the commercial side, we will investigate the technical and cost requirements amongst our end-users (ARM, Cambridge IQ, Ahead-of-the-Curve/AotC) and in the market, in order to validate Lightricity’s technology for the most promising market segments (where there is a strong customer and technology pull): Retail (smart packaging and labels, anti-counterfeiting, smart payment cards), Industrial IoT (asset tracking, monitoring and positioning devices) and smart cities (environmental sensing, smart parking etc.).
The project outcomes are anticipated to be a combination of physical prototypes, technical feasibility (process flow for scale-up) and market research (incl. financial feasibility).
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology civil engineering urban engineering smart cities
- natural sciences computer and information sciences internet internet of things
- engineering and technology environmental engineering energy and fuels renewable energy
- engineering and technology electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering electronic engineering sensors
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.2.3. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.3. - PRIORITY 'Societal challenges
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H2020-EU.2.1. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-EIC-SMEInst-2018-2020
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
OX4 4GB Oxford
United Kingdom
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.