Burger King employs MotionPower to produce electricity from drive-thru
In the future, fetching your burgers and fries via the drive-thru might mean helping the store you're patronizing keep the lights on. In more ways than one. Over the Labor Day weekend, a Burger King in Hillside, New Jersey tried out the MotionPower energy harvester from New Energy Technologies to see how it would hold up to the heavy traffic flow they experienced over the holiday period. As drivers wended their way to the window to get their Whoppers, the cars ran over a metal speed-bump affair that, using the weight of the vehicles to depress a plate and turn some gears, produced 2000 watts with each passing. As it was just an initial durability test, the fast food franchise didn't actually benefit from the "free" electrons but customers were treated to a very small light show that was installed to demonstrate the that system was working. The manufacturer envisions larger MotionPower machines installed in places where traffic is slowing down to prevent the scheme from requiring extra energy input from vehicles.
If you're intrigued by this device (or the similar Dragon Power Station) and missed the chance to check it out in Jersey, you may be interested to know that they will next be collecting kinetic energy at the Four Seasons in Washington, DC and at the Holiday Inn Express in Baltimore. Hit the jump for a video from Fox News featuring the device as well as the press release.
[Source: New Energy Technologies]
PRESS RELEASE:
New Energy's Technology for Generating Electricity from Movement of Cars Tested at Burger King®
First-ever field tests of MotionPower™ device validate Company's strategies for engineering, materials, and technology deployment; Further testing at Four Seasons Washington, DC and Holiday Inn® Express.
Burtonsville, MD - September 8, 2009 - New Energy Technologies, Inc. (Symbol: NENE), a next-generation alternative and renewable energy developer, today announced that engineers have successfully conducted the first-ever durability field-tests of the Company's prototyped MotionPower™ technology for generating electricity from the motion of cars and light trucks -- a key step in optimizing New Energy's MotionPower™ technology for commercial launch.
Durability testing was conducted at quick-service giant, Burger King's, prominent franchise restaurant in the New York Metro area in Hillside, New Jersey throughout the busy Labor Day weekend from September 3rd to September 7th. The Burger King® franchise is owned and operated by entrepreneurs, Mr. Drew Paterno and Mr. Michael Wallstein.
"It would be great to generate clean electricity by mechanically capturing the kinetic energy of the 100,000-plus cars that drive through our Hillside store alone each year," stated entrepreneur and Burger King franchise owner, Mr. Drew Paterno. "If the MotionPower™ device works and does what we think it will do, we'd be interested in installing it in all our locations."
New Energy's MotionPower™ technology is designed to be installed in locations where hybrid, next-generation electrical, and conventional fuels-driven vehicles decelerate or stop, thus ensuring that vehicles are not 'robbed' of energy they would otherwise use to accelerate. Instead, MotionPower™ devices actually assist vehicles in slowing down, and in the process of doing so, capture the vehicles' motion energy before it is lost as brake heat, and creatively convert that energy into clean 'green' electricity.
"We've had a favorable response to our MotionPower™ technology from the marketplace and from those who generated electricity by driving their cars over our device. We're keen to aggressively commercialize our technology and have designed each phase of our testing to help move us towards this goal," explained Mr. Meetesh Patel, Esq., President and CEO of New Energy Technologies, Inc.
"For example, we undertook our durability tests during the busy Labor Day long weekend at a high-traffic site that's typical of our installation target market," Mr. Patel continued. "The early data we've acquired from these Phase 1 tests of our first prototype for cars and light trucks validates our engineering approach, materials selection strategy, and product deployment plans – all very important factors in developing a commercially successful first-of-its kind technology for generating clean electricity from the motion of vehicles."
In addition to tests conducted at Burger King®, engineers are undertaking additional durability testing of New Energy's prototyped mechanical MotionPower™ system for cars and light trucks in the upcoming weeks at the Four Seasons Washington, DC and at the Holiday Inn Express® Baltimore.
MotionPower™: Practical, 'Green' Energy Harvesting
Designed as a roadway-based system for installation where vehicles are required to decelerate or stop, MotionPower™ technology assists vehicles in slowing down, and in the process of doing so, captures the slowing vehicles' motion (kinetic) energy before it is lost as brake heat, and creatively converts that energy into clean, 'green' electricity.
As millions of vehicles slow or come to a stop at toll plazas, rest areas, traffic calming areas drive-thrus, and countless other roadway points, their motion energy, derived from the burning of fossil fuels, is dissipated in brakes and lost as heat to the environment. New Energy's MotionPower™ devices use this lost energy to generate electricity.
MotionPower™ devices make use of the energy wasted by these millions of cars, trucks, and heavy vehicles when they slow down or come to a full stop countless times throughout the day, and convert this otherwise wasted energy into valuable, clean electricity.
Once fully optimized and installed, engineers anticipate that MotionPower™ devices may be used to augment or replace conventional electrical supplies for powering roadway signs, street and building lights, storage systems for back-up and emergency power, and other electronics, appliances, and even devices used in homes and businesses.
To-date, New Energy has filed nine new patent applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in order protect novel features of its MotionPower™ technology for generating electricity from the kinetic energy of moving vehicles.
About New Energy Technologies, Inc.
New Energy Technologies, Inc., together with its wholly owned subsidiaries, is a developer of next generation alternative and renewable energy technologies. Among the Company's technologies under development are:
* MotionPower™ roadway systems for generating electricity by capturing the kinetic energy produced by moving vehicles. An estimated 250 million registered vehicles drive more than 6 billion miles on America's roadways, every day; and
* SolarWindow™ technologies which enable transparent glass windows to generate electricity by coating their glass surfaces with the world's smallest known solar cells. These solar coatings are less than 1/10th the thickness of 'thin' films and make use of the world's smallest functional solar cells, shown to successfully produce electricity in a recently published peer-reviewed study in the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy of the American Institute of Physics.
Through established relationships with universities, research institutions, and commercial partners, we strive to identify technologies and business opportunities on the leading edge of renewable energy innovation. Unique to our business model is the use of established research infrastructure owned by the various institutions we deal with, saving us significant capital which would otherwise be required for such costs as land and building acquisition, equipment and capital equipment purchases, and other start up expenses. As a result, we are able to benefit from leading edge research while employing significantly less capital than conventional organizations.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
216 8:10AM (9/16/2009)
that's cool
Reply
nerdo 8:13AM (9/16/2009)
Nitpick: watts is a measure of power, so you can't extract "2000 watts" from each vehicle passing. That's like saying "I recovered 3 horsepower from each vehicle passing". It makes no sense. What you might say is that they recovered 2000 watt-hours (unlikely) or 2000 joules, both of which are measures of energy, rather than power output.
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GoodCheer 9:31AM (9/16/2009)
Just what I was going to say.
The Fox News report says "produces 2000 Watts instantaneously" which seems reasonably believable, but of course each paddle is only in motion for a fraction of a second... maybe .25 seconds?
So the amount of energy produced would be 500 Watt-seconds, or ~0.14Wh.
Flahooler 12:23PM (9/16/2009)
Oh how I love mathematics ... wish I was better at it, but here goes. To expand on the point that 'Nerdo' and 'GoodCheer' are making, let's be generous and say that the 2000-W peak lasts for a duration of 1 second (1 / 3600th of an hour), for a total energy recovery of (2-kW * (1/3600 hours) = 5.55e-4 kWh). Now a quote from a BK rep in the article states that approximately 100,000 cars drive through their Hillside store in one year's time, making the total energy recovery of the system roughly (5.55e-4 kWh per vehicle * 100,000 vehicles per year = 55.5 kWh per year). I'm not sure what small business owners pay for electricity, but let's use an often-quoted average cost of $0.10 per kWh for a total savings of (55.5 kWh per year * 0.10 dollars per kWh = $5.55 per year).
Wow .... this is really going to change the world.
RJ 8:30AM (9/16/2009)
Huh? It's not FREE energy. Energy just doesn't appear out of nowhere. They are STEALING energy from the customers. The customers have to use gas to power their car over the speed bump. So whatever energy that is produced for BK from this speed bump, the customer would have have to use more to get over it, since some energy would most likely be lost in the transfer process.
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Mark Kiernan 8:36AM (9/16/2009)
If people are slowing down their cars they could use as a brake which would mean the energy not transferred to the brakes of the car goes into this device, but it would mean that people do not use gas to cross over the bump.
Frankly I think it would be better if people give BK, MD or KFC a miss completely was it would be much better for the environment than this green-washing.
Derek 12:28PM (9/17/2009)
Mark: except that it is a speed bump in the lane. Dunno about you, but I always slow down *before* I go over a speed bump.
thirty7 9:13AM (9/16/2009)
Seriously - why not employ this where people actually have to stop? As in a high delta of speed on a highway with stop signs/lights? ABG should step up and inform Burger King on the law of energy conservation vs posting a story saying how great this new application of a MotionPower product is. This must not become a franchise standard. It will actually push us backwards vs forward in any green movement.
A better drive through technology would be to employ a 'magic carpet' (or car wash conveyor system) drive through powered soley on solar power from PV's on the BK roof. The customer would enter the drive through line and shut off their car prior to making their order. The magic carpet would start at the giant menu. Then they BK would be actually help the reduction of CO2 into the air with their line of cars around their building no longer idling but moving along with ignitions in the OFF position. That is saving energy. Engine off - movement powered by PV electric power.
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skierpage 5:23AM (9/17/2009)
Even better, a mechanical gizmo with no moving parts called a SLIGHT INCLINE. The magic mystical force of Gravity moves your car through the drive-thru lane! Stop-start cars will shut off automatically and hybrids will recapture some energy from braking.
It'll never happen because American drivers are litigious idiots who'll sue and claim the incline caused their collision in the drive-thru while they were yakking on a cellphone. But nor will your magic conveyor.
David Mustoe 10:15AM (9/16/2009)
This is what humanity is up against. Can you imagine that a corporation this big doesn't contain one person that understands the laws of physics. If they just added a 1/10 cent surcharge to each customer they would achieve more for both of us.
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nrb 12:23PM (9/16/2009)
They understand the laws of physics, but they don't care. In their world, it is more important to appear green than to actually be green.
RSR 9:28AM (9/17/2009)
Or the people who understand this all too often have no voice in the corporate world. After all, it's an uphill battle to go up against some eccentric executives with MBA.
why not the LS2LS7? 10:45AM (9/16/2009)
Go check the comments of the engadget article on this, we ran gobs and gobs of figures on this thing. The practical upshot is it will generate only a few dollars worth of electricity per year and thus will most certainly wear out before it pays for itself (assuming it costs $1,000 or more to build and install).
Not to mention that when placed right there, it is most definitely not in an area of braking and is stealing whatever money it does make right out of your gas tank.
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Dan Frederiksen 10:48AM (9/16/2009)
yeah it's stupid. it has merit in a limited sense if it's installed only the places where people brake otherwise so they don't have to brake. provided they understand that and the car doesn't come to a halt so they have to speed up again and waste more energy.
and even in that use it loses merit when cars have regen braking.
it's an amusing system but should not be done and certainly not be considered as having green potential. other than maybe raise awareness but perhaps the wrong awareness.
I've seen people very seriously suggesting this on highways as if that would provide all the clean energy we would need...
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!!D 11:56AM (9/16/2009)
What an absolute WASTE!
1) Wasted energy from all of the conversions: from gasoline to kinetic energy of the car to potential energy of the elevated car to electric energy.
2) Wasted capital by using gasoline (processed from foreign oil) as the energy source.
3) Waste of the environment by using highly polluting, poorly maintained vehicles.
Anyone who thinks this is a good idea has no grasp of physics.
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Randy S 12:43PM (9/16/2009)
Stupid, stupid, stupid....
What a waste of effort for such a miniscule capture of energy. This is the type of idea that has gone way to far without someone with half a brain putting the brakes on (pun) and realizing how stuipid it is.
Once we have EV's, who cares about this, EV's will have regen braking and the customer can keep his energy that is rightfully his anyway.
This idea is complicated incorportated, stupid, stupid people, Burger King!
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EVFTW 2:02PM (9/16/2009)
Why not install dynometers in the drive through lane? The cars could be run up a simulated 20 degree incline for 5 minutes to generate some REAL energy.
And best of all it's free!
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RITmusic2k 1:46PM (9/17/2009)
I don't know where you're getting your gasoline, but I have to pay for mine.
IamXD 3:18PM (9/17/2009)
I had some "ignorance of physics" html tags in there. AB editted them out. It was a joke.
This company is another one of those companies run by bankers or politicians that have no grasp of physics and how things work. Any time energy is pulled out of a system it came from somwhere and in this case it's the customers gas tanks..
It's like the subsidy for EVs... Where does that money come from? It comes out of the pockets of citizens.
mje 5:17PM (9/17/2009)
I like the dynamometer idea- Even better-- why not just have a hose that siphons out some of your gas when you pull up? After all, it's free! ;-)