Zero Energy Devices ZED: Self-powered and Backscatter-Powered Electronics and Electrics Markets, Technology 2024-2044

Description

REPORT STATISTICS
SWOT appraisals:	7
Chapters:	12
Forecast lines 2024-2044:	65
Companies:	90
Infograms, tables, graphs:	113

Some of the questions answered:

How can I create a $1 billion ZED business?
Potential competitors, partners, acquisitions?
Market and technology roadmap for 2024-2044?
Technology readiness and potential improvement?
Appraisal of needs and appropriate technology options?
Market drivers and forecasts of background parameters?
Market forecasts by technology and application 2024-2044?
Deep analysis of research pipeline including 2024 with implications?
Explanation of trend to "massless energy", and other structural electronics?
Battery-free, ultra-low power electronics, non-toxic, non-flammable options emerging?

You could call a solar flashlight and an anti-theft tag "zero-energy devices" but the subject is about to take a huge leap forward well beyond these. You can create a billion-dollar business from making the next ZED materials or devices as detailed in the commerclally-oriented 408-page report, "Zero Energy Devices ZED: Self-Powered and Backscatter-Powered Electronics and Electrics Markets, Technology 2024-2044".

Dramatic advances ahead

The day is coming when you never recharge your smart watch or phone and, without need for a battery, they last longer than you do. Internet of Things will be more than a cynical renaming of existing wireless technology because the nodes will genuinely become things-collaborating-with-things and they will be affordable, much smaller, lasting decades and deployable in tens of billions year without pollution. The delights of promised 6G Communications in 2030 will be possible only with ZED metasurfaces enhancing the propagation path and it enabling edge-computing client ZED. You will live longer with ZED inside you. There is much more and you only find it in this deeply insightful, up-to-date report that even scopes research in 2024, future needs and technology evolution. The primary author has created several successful high-tech businesses, so the report is realistic, including warnings concerning dead ends and over-promising.

The big picture

The Executive Summary and Conclusions is sufficient in itself. It has 26 pages of easily- understood infograms and roadmaps followed by 65 forecast lines of ZED and allied technologies and applications. Chapter 2 (25 pages) introduces definitions, context and successes so far including the problem of increasing electricity consumption of electronics with the ZED antidote eliminating power consumption and battery issues. See how on-board energy harvesting is being simplified, saving weight, size, cost, failure modes and toxigens. Can ZED halt the increasing demand of electronics for grid-based electricity? ZED route to success with the Internet of Things? Why are ZED sensors a strong emerging need? Importance of flexible, laminar and 2D energy harvesting and sensing , even self-powered and integrated sensors 2024-2044? See how next telecommunications generations deliver more ZED opportunities.

The heart of the report

The heart of the report consists of three chapters on how to address certain important sectors with ZED then seven chapters on the important ZED enabling technologies emerging 2024-2044 to drive your success. Enjoy close examination of the latest research pipeline and realistic timescales and requirements for commercial success with much distilled into new SWOT appraisals, comparison charts and infograms. This is firm analysis of commercial opportunities not academic obscurity, rambling text or nostalgia.

ZED for 6G Communications

6G Communications is planned for 2030, with a radically improved form in 2035. The 49 pages of Chapter 3 address this, highlighting how it will both need widespread ZED in its infrastructure to succeed and it may enable huge numbers of edge computing ZED client devices.

ZED appearing as wireless sensors, IOT, personal and other electronics

Chapter 4 concerns "ZED progress with wireless sensors, IOT, personal and other electronics" so it takes a full 56 pages to interpret such a broad scope of achievements, opportunities and research approaches. The massive scope for vast numbers of fit-and-forget battery-free sensors gets particular attention. Sensor transducers that are their own source of electricity, ZED wearables including metaverse interfacing, ZED in automotive, medical and more - it is all here. Then come the technology chapters with your best opportunities to participate.

Optimal technology strategies

Chapter 5 "Strategies to achieve fit-and-forget battery-free ZED" in 30 pages presents battery headwinds 2024-2044 and ZED enablement, notably eight ZED enablers that can be combined. See self-healing materials for fit-and-forget then useful specification compromises with energy harvesting. Here is a battery-free perpetual micro-robot. Combining these approaches is brought to life with examples of "Batteryless energy harvesting with demand management" , "Quest for battery less ZED in heterogenous cellular networks", "Wireless sensor networks enable their ZED devices with severe performance compromises", "Oppo view of zero power communications and "ZED lessons from active RFID"

Energy harvesting system design for ZED

Then comes energy harvesting system design for ZED, the elements of a harvesting system and new infograms on energy harvesting system detail with improvement strategies 2024-2044 and on 13 families of energy harvesting technology considered for ZED 2024-2044 followed by more detail. Again, the approach is critical not evangelistic because companies and researchers vary in their approaches from very realistic in our 20-year timeframe to the extremely speculative and unwanted.

Next ultra-low power electronics makes new ZED feasible

Chapter 6 (39 pages) addresses the contribution to the success of ZED from "Ultra-low power electronics, sensors, and electrics". It is broad in scope but, because of their great importance, it particularly covers ultra-low power integrated circuits and metamaterials needing much less electricity so your energy harvesting and backscatter power can operate vastly more forms of device.

Backscatter on steroids

Chapter 7 (19 pages) "Powering devices only when interrogated: backscatter, SWIPT, WIET, WPT for EAS, RFID, IOT, 6G Communications and other electronics" then goes really deeply into that form of ZED enablement. This necessarily includes so-called "ambient backscatter communications AmBC", "crowd-detectable CD-ZED" and much new research. It is followed by three chapters on the all-important energy harvesting technologies evolving for ZED applications.

On-board harvesting options increase and combine

Chapter 8 (23 pages) is "Harvesting electromagnetic waves: photovoltaics to power devices" then Chapter 9 (18 pages) is "9. Harvesting ambient electromagnetic waves: RF harvesting power for devices and communication by recycling existing emissions" and the rest is covered in Chapter 10 (39 pages) "Mechanical harvesting for devices (acoustic, vibration, linear and rotational motion) using electrodynamics, piezoelectrics, triboelectrics etc. Thermoelectrics, pyroelectrics, evaporative hydrovoltaics, microbial fuel cells (biofuel harvesting)".

However, an aspect rarely addressed is the combination of these many energy harvesting technologies to reduce and sometimes eliminate the need for on-board energy storage to overcome their intermittency and inability to respond to load variations. Consequently, Chapter 11 (16 pages) covers, "Multi-mode energy harvesting for devices" including its progression into single smart materials. See examples such as "thermoelectric with photovoltaic", "photovoltaic with electrokinetic", "thermoelectric with photovoltaic and movement harvesting" and "push button harvesting with solar power and intermittency tolerant electronics". From 2024 and other research, learn how there is much more to come for smart watches through to medical implants.

Storage that batteries can never achieve

At this stage you will realise that many zero energy devices without storage have been presented throughout the report. You will accept that self-powered devices with long-life batteries can still be considered "ZED". Nonetheless, it is clear that the big opportunity ahead is where alternatives to on-board batteries are used to cover intermittency of energy harvesting and the need to respond to load variation. Chapter 12 (40 pages) therefore analyses, "Supercapacitors, variants and massless energy for battery-free ZED". It explains why supercapacitors and lithium-ion capacitors are the prime candidates but it also discusses others with few or none of the problems of batteries such as life, reliability, toxicity and flammability.

Massless energy will transform ZED

They all take more space and weight than a good battery in a ZED but two escape routes are presented. One is wide area thin formats and the other is what Imperial College London calls "massless energy". Here, a dumb load-bearing structure such as a watch case is replaced with a structural supercapacitor material incurring no increase in space or weight even if it has a photovoltaic overlayer. The report, "Zero Energy Devices ZED: Self-Powered and Backscatter-Powered Electronics and Electrics Markets, Technology 2024-2044" is your essential guide to this large new ZED opportunity.

CAPTION Maturity of primary ZED enabling technologies in 2024. Indicated number is technology readiness level TRL - maturity level of a technology throughout its research, development and deployment phase progression on a scale from 1 to 9. ZED is shown blue and ZED enabling technologies are shown yellow. Source Zhar Research report, "Zero Energy Devices ZED: Self-Powered and Backscatter-Powered Electronics and Electrics Markets, Technology 2024-2044".

CAPTION Backscatter ZED $ billion 2024-2044. Source: Zhar Research report, "Zero Energy Devices ZED: Self-Powered and Backscatter-Powered Electronics and Electrics Markets, Technology 2024-2044".

1. Executive summary and conclusions

1.1. Purpose and scope of this report
1.2. Methodology of this analysis
1.3. Definition and purpose
1.4. 18 Primary conclusions
1.5. Current ZED successes
1.6. Optimal technology strategies for ZED 2024-2044
1.7. Progress of telecommunications generations to more ZED opportunities
1.8. Progress towards sensor ZED 2024-2044
1.9. Roadmap of ZED and its enabling technologies 2024-2044
1.10. Market forecasts 2024-2044
- 1.10.1. Backscatter ZED units sold billion RFID, EAS, 6G SWIPT 2024-2044
- 1.10.2. Backscatter ZED $ billion RFID, EAS, 6G SWIPT 2024-2044
- 1.10.3. Energy storage market battery vs batteryless $ billion 2023-2044
- 1.10.4. Batteryless storage short vs long duration 2023-2044
- 1.10.5. Batteryless energy storage vs lithium-ion battery market $ billion 2023-2044: table, graphs, explanation
- 1.10.6. Lithium-ion battery market by three storage levels 2023-2044
- 1.10.7. Batteryless energy storage by three storage levels $ billion 2023-2044: table
- 1.10.8. Batteryless storage market by 13 technology categories $ billion 2023-2044 table
- 1.10.9. 6G infrastructure enabling client devices without storage: global yearly 6G RIS sales by five types and total $ billion 2024-2044
- 1.10.10. Global yearly 6G RIS sales by five types $ billion 2023-2043: area graph with explanation
- 1.10.11. Sensors global value market for seven application sectors $ billion 2023-2044:
- 1.10.12. Sensor value market % by 6 input media 2024, 2034, 2044: table with sub-categories and reasons
- 1.10.13. Sensor value market % by six input media 2024-2044
- 1.10.14. Smartphone sensor market units, unit price, value market $ billion 2023-2044
- 1.10.15. Smartphone units sold globally 2023-2044 if 6G is successful
- 1.10.16. X-reality hardware market with possible 6G impact 2024-2044

2. Definition, examples and future need for zero energy devices

2.1. Overview
2.2. Reasons for the trend to ZED
2.3. Different definitions of zero energy device ZED
2.4. Context of ZED: overlapping and adjacent technologies and examples of long-life energy independence
2.5. Electrical autonomy examples that last for the life of their host equipment
2.6. The increasing electricity consumption of electronics and ZED strategies
2.7. Strategies to reduce power consumption and battery issues
2.8. On-board energy harvesting for ZED is being simplified to save weight, size, cost and reduce the number of failure modes and toxigens
2.9. Stopping the increasing demand of electronics for grid-based electricity
2.10. Internet of Things: lessons of failure and possible route to success
2.11. Introduction to energy harvesting
2.12. Why ZED sensors are a strong emerging need
2.13. Importance of flexible, laminar and 2D energy harvesting and sensing 2024-2044
2.14. Self-powered and integrated sensors
2.15. How telecommunications generations are progressing to more ZED opportunities

3. ZED opportunity with 6G Communications RIS, CPE and client devices

3.1. Overview
3.2. Why do we need 6G?
3.3. Disruptive 6G aspects
3.4. Arguments against, challenges ahead and objectives of key players
3.5. The cost challenge
3.6. 3GPP vision of options for 6G ZED and wireless powered IoE for 6G
3.7. How 6G transmission hardware will achieve much better performance than 5G
3.8. Recent hardware advances that can aid 6G 2024-2044
3.9. 6G Communications opportunities for equipment and edge devices to become ZED
3.10. Specific ZED needs in 6G communications
3.11. 6G ZED in the research pipeline
- 3.11.1. Machine Type Communication (MTC)
- 3.11.2. Zero-energy air interface for advanced 5G and for 6G
- 3.11.3. Zero-energy devices empowered 6G opportunities
- 3.11.4. First real-time backscatter communication demonstrated for 6G in 2023
- 3.11.5. Further reading-13 other recent research papers relevant to 6G ZED
3.12. SWOT appraisal of 6G Communications as currently understood
3.13. 6G general roadmap 2024-2044

4. ZED progress with wireless sensors, IOT, personal and other electronics

4.1. Overview of basics and progress towards sensor ZED 2024-2044
4.2. IOT nodes and concepts
4.3. Market evolution: sensor parameters measured become multi-faceted, demand changes radically
4.4. Progress to sensor ZED: self-powered and self-sensing devices
4.5. Smart sensor anatomy and purpose
4.6. Examples of self-powered sensors and ZED sensor research pipeline in 2024
4.7. Progress towards ZED with personal electronics, industrial and professional electronics
4.8. Examples of battery-based ZED personal and other electronics and electrics
4.9. Progress with ZED wearables

5. Strategies to achieve fit-and-forget battery-free ZED

5.1. Overview
5.2. Battery headwinds 2024-2044
5.3. ZED enablement
- 5.3.1. Eight ZED enablers that can be combined
- 5.3.2. ZED enabler: self-healing materials for fit-and-forget
- 5.3.3. Specification compromise with energy harvesting: battery-free perpetual micro-robot
- 5.3.4. Batteryless energy harvesting with demand management
- 5.3.5. Quest for battery less ZED in heterogenous cellular networks
- 5.3.6. Wireless sensor networks enable their ZED devices with severe performance compromises
- 5.3.7. Oppo view of zero power communications
- 5.3.8. ZED lessons from active RFID
5.4. Energy harvesting system design for ZED
- 5.4.1. Elements of a harvesting system
- 5.4.2. Energy harvesting system detail with improvement strategies 2024-2044
- 5.4.3. 13 families of energy harvesting technology considered for ZED 2024-2044

6. Ultra-low power electronics, sensors, and electrics

6.1. Overview
6.2. Ultra-low power electronics
- 6.2.1. Ultra-low-power readout interfaces and multifunctional electronics
- 6.2.2. Ultra-low-power phononic in-sensor computing
- 6.2.3. Improved energy efficiency in 6G Communications: European Commission Hexa-X Project
- 6.2.4. Static context header compression and fragmentation for ZED
- 6.2.5. Other energy efficient sensing, processing and new power transfer options for IOT
6.3. Ultra-low power integrated circuits
- 6.3.1. Nanopower nPZero
- 6.3.2. Everactive ultra-low power circuits for ZED IOT
- 6.3.3. 2nm chips and beyond-USA, Taiwan, China, Japan
- 6.3.4. Ericsson Research and MIT Lithionic chips
- 6.3.5. Move-X's MAMWLE: Ultra-low-power radio module
6.4. Ultra-low-power smartphone
6.5. Metamaterials and metasurfaces as ZED or enabling ZED
- 6.5.1. Definitions and scope
- 6.5.2. Metamaterial ZED window
- 6.5.3. Metasurfaces for 6G RIS ZED and other purposes
- 6.5.4. SWOT appraisal of 6G Communications RIS opportunities

7. Powering devices only when interrogated: backscatter, SWIPT, WIET, WPT for EAS, RFID, IOT, 6G Communications and other electronics

7.1. Overview: backscatter, EAS, RFID, 6G SWIPT
- 7.1.1. Forms of wireless power transfer enabling batteryless and less-battery devices
- 7.1.2. Backscatter communications
- 7.1.3. Evolution of wireless electronic communication devices needing no on-board energy storage 1980-2035
7.2. Ambient backscatter communications AmBC and Crowd-detectable CD-ZED
- 7.2.1. View of Aalto University on AmBC and CD-ZED
- 7.2.2. Orange AmBC and CD-ZED
- 7.2.3. Battery-free AmBC: University of California San Diego
- 7.2.4. Crowd-detectable CD-ZED research
7.3. Hybrid beamforming-based SWIPT
7.4. SWOT appraisal of circuits and infrastructure that eliminate storage
7.5. Further research: 47 recent papers

8. Harvesting electromagnetic waves: photovoltaics to power devices

8.1. Overview
8.2. Electromagnetic energy harvesting toolkit by frequency: photovoltaics
8.3. Strategies for increasing photovoltaic output per unit volume and area 2024-2044
8.4. Some important parameters for ZED photovoltaics
8.5. Limits of single junction efficiency
8.6. PV cell efficiency trends
8.7. Experience curve of cost reduction
8.8. Some format options evolving 2024-2044
8.9. Photovoltaics by pn junction compared to other options 2024-2044
8.10. Perovskite photovoltaics
8.11. Integrated MEMS with photovoltaics as ZED
8.12. Photovoltaics feasible and affordable in more places: examples
8.13. Routes to battery-free solar ZED: tape, IOT, cameras
8.14. Transparent and opaque photovoltaics in smartwatches
8.15. Battery-free drone flight for sensing and IOT
8.16. SWOT appraisal of photovoltaics for ZED
8.17. Further research papers and events in 2024

9. Harvesting ambient electromagnetic waves: RF harvesting power for devices and communication by recycling existing emissions

9.1. Overview
9.2. Electromagnetic energy harvesting toolkit by frequency: RF
9.3. Devices harvesting ambient man-made RF emissions to produce on-board electricity
9.4. Basic RF harvester RFEH
9.5. Routes to RF harvester improvement
9.6. Results for various forms of RF harvester
9.7. Sensors and biometric access using RF harvesting
9.8. RF harvesting for wearables
9.9. Other recent advances in RF harvesting

10. Mechanical harvesting for devices (acoustic, vibration, linear and rotational motion) using electrodynamics, piezoelectrics, triboelectrics etc. Thermoelectrics, pyroelectrics, evaporative hydrovoltaics, microbial fuel cells (biofuel harvesting)

10.1. Overview
10.2. ZED energy harvesting technology beyond harvesting electromagnetic radiation 2024-2044
10.3. Sources of mechanical energy and harvesting options 2024-2044
10.4. GeorgiaTech comparison of some options
10.5. Vibration harvesting
- 10.5.1. General
- 10.5.2. Hitachi Rail battery-free ZED vibration sensor powered by electrodynamic energy harvesting
10.6. Harvesting infrasound
10.7. Kinetron and other electrodynamic ("electrokinetic") harvesters typically harvesting infrasound
10.8. Push button harvesting
10.9. EnOcean building controls "no wires, no batteries, no limits" IOT
10.10. Zero Energy Development battery-free ZED
10.11. Transpiration electrokinetic harvesting for battery-free sensor power supply
10.12. Acoustic harvesting
10.13. Triboelectric energy harvesting of motion
10.14. Thermoelectric harvesting with SWOT appraisal
10.15. Hydrovoltaic harvesting
10.16. Flexible energy harvesting: biofuel cell skin sensor system
10.16. Research pipeline in 2024 and earlier

11. Multi-mode energy harvesting for devices

11.1. Overview
11.2. Multi-mode and multiple-source harvesting to reduce intermittency
- 11.2.1. Thermoelectric with photovoltaic
- 11.2.2. Photovoltaic with electrokinetic: Ressence Model 2 watch
- 11.2.3. Thermoelectric with photovoltaic and movement harvesting: DCO, Wurth and Analog Devices products
- 11.2.4. Push button harvesting with solar power and intermittency tolerant electronics BFree
11.3. Multi-mode harvesting research pipeline 2024 and earlier
11.4. SWOT appraisal of multi-mode energy harvesting for ZED

12. Supercapacitors, variants and massless energy for battery-free ZED

12.1. Overview
12.2. Spectrum of choice-capacitor to supercapacitor to battery
12.3. Lithium-ion capacitor features
12.4. Actual and potential major applications of supercapacitors and their derivatives 2024-2044
12.5. SWOT appraisal of batteryless storage technologies for ZED
12.6. Examples of ZED enabled by supercapacitors and variants
- 12.6.1. Bicycle dynamo with supercapacitor or electrolytic capacitor
- 12.6.2. IOT ZED enabled by LIC hybrid supercapacitor
- 12.6.3. Supercapacitors in medical devices
12.7. Massless energy-supercapacitor structural electronics
- 12.7.1. Review
- 12.7.2. Structural supercapacitors for aircraft: Imperial College London, Texas A&M University
- 12.7.3. Structural supercapacitors for boats and other applications: University of California San Diego
- 12.7.4. Structural supercapacitors for road vehicles: five research centers
- 12.7.5. Structural supercapacitors for electronics and devices: Vanderbilt University USA
- 12.7.6. Transparent structural supercapacitors on optoelectronic devices
12.8. Research pipeline: Supercapacitors
12.9. Research pipeline: Hybrid approaches
12.10. Research pipeline: Pseudocapacitors