Prospective of societal and environmental benefits of piezoelectric technology in road energy harvesting

Abstract

Road energy harvesting is an ingenious horizon for clean and renewable energy production. The concept is very compatible with current traffic trends and the ongoing depletion of natural resources. Yet, the idea of harvesting roadway energy is still in its genesis, and only a few real-time implementation projects have been reported in the literature. This review article summarizes the current state of the art in road energy harvesting technology, with a focus on piezoelectric systems, including an analysis of the impact of the technology from social and environmental standpoints. Based on an extensive desktop review study, this article provides a comprehensive insight into roadway energy harvesting technologies. Specifically, the article discusses the societal and environmental benefits of road energy harvesting technologies, as well as the challenges. The study outlined the meaningful benefits that positively align with the concept of sustainability. Overall, the literature findings indicate that the expansion of the roadway energy harvesting technology to a large practical scale is feasible, but such an undertaking should be wisely weighed from broader perspectives. Ultimately, the article provides a positive outlook of the potential contributions of road energy harvesting technologies to the ongoing energy and environmental challenges of human society.