Agricultural Sensors Powered by the Soil

Every day, the use of sensors in agriculture becomes more widespread. Sensors are used to measure climate conditions and soil parameters (such as humidity and pH), to predict crop yields, and to identify potential dangers. Chemical batteries are the most common solution for the storage of energy in smart agriculture systems. They exhibit short lifetimes and must be replaced on average every 12 months under normal conditions. There is no reliable alternative to chemical storage in the market today. Solar panels have often been put forward as the sustainable power source of choice for remote sensing, however, they require constant maintenance resulting in high operating costs, and their installation is often prohibitively expensive.

Our product is a ground-breaking sensing solution that completely eradicates the problem with powering agricultural sensors.

Using our unique “electricity from nature” concept, the sensors are powered by a battery/generator that produces small but sufficient currents of electricity from the decomposition of organic substances by bacteria within the soil. This process frees mobile electrons, which are captured by the system with one generator being able to power up to 4 sensors. The product is cheaper (4+ times as compared to conventional methods), made of sustainable materials such as graphite, allows sensors to operate independently for a period of more than 3 years, is completely weather independent (including under flood conditions), and provides constant electricity production during day and night. The current system is capable of providing 100ms discharges of 28W per day which is more than sufficient (3000 times more) to power a sensor’s reading, allowing several readings per day (current humidity and temperature sensors take a full reading with a 100ms discharge of 8 mW).