Power Beaming: a sustainable solution for energy distribution
Energy transmission via laser will be used to supply the least developed areas on the planet with electricity. However, that technological feat cannot be accomplished without the unique properties of lab-grown diamonds.
Access to electricity is the only way to develop the economy of the world’s poorest places. “With electricity comes business opportunities and wealth creation,” says Alex Kummerman, Chief Investment Officer of LakeDiamond. With its 25 employees, the Swiss company produces lab-grown diamonds and develops technological applications that harness diamond’s unique qualities.
Operating out of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), LakeDiamond draws on 20 years of academic research to develop diamond laser systems. Diamond is the best way to transmit energy at the speed of light, wirelessly and over long distances. This power beaming technology has geopolitical ramifications. The technology can be used to channel electricity to remote areas without the need for building costly infrastructure, which is one of the current limiting factors development in certain countries.
How does power beaming work?
Light can be used to transmit energy. For example, energy from the sun can be collected by the photons it emits. They are converted into electricity using solar panels.
Lasers, more specifically those produced by LakeDiamond, are like artificial super suns that have a huge advantage over our star. Light is emitted through lasers in highly parallel beams that practically never diverge. That means that energy can be transmitted over very great distances.
In addition, the beam can be emitted in a colour (wavelength) to which our eyes are much less sensitive than visible sun rays.
“lasers can even emit a power density that is a thousand times higher than that of sunlight.”
- Pascal Gallo, LakeDiamond CEO
The role of diamonds in lasers
Light rays must be perfectly parallel in order to travel several kilometers. That implies a high concentration of power at the light source within the laser.
“With traditional lasers, producing light also means producing heat, which reduces beam quality and limits their output power,” says Nicolas Malpiece, Power Beaming Project Leader at LakeDiamond. To offset these effects, the company has come up with the technological solution of incorporating diamond into lasers.
“Diamond is the best thermal conductor available, and this particular property removes heat from the laser and increases its output power. The transparency of diamond and flawless surface produced in the manufacturing process mean that the beam is not absorbed and offers excellent thermal contact with the light source.”
- Nicolas Malpiece, Power Beaming Project Leader at LakeDiamond
LakeDiamond also has unique expertise that sets it apart from its competitors. It is the only company that makes diamond lasers with wavelengths of between 1,500 and 1,600 nanometres. These wavelengths are much less harmful than the visible spectrum, as indicated above, but more importantly, they provide significant power and limit energy losses, as they are not absorbed by the atmosphere.
Better than the sun: a sustainable solution to power remote locations
Over 1.1 billion people in the world do not have access to electricity. In Africa, it represents 60% of the population. Almost all of those people live in rural or remote areas where the cost of new infrastructure is prohibitive.
Power beaming is part of the solution, it can be used as a sustainable and economical way to transport energy to remote locations.
Nicolas Malpiece says that the project involves recovering energy produced using photovoltaic panels that receive sunlight to create electric energy and wirelessly transmit it to remote regions. Solar power systems can capture one kilowatt of energy per square metre, requiring a large and costly surface area that would be difficult to build in each isolated region.
Once converted into a laser beam, the energy will be recaptured by a high-power photodiode or solar panel that can capture a high-intensity ray. These photodiodes can transform the light from the lasers into electricity to produce 100 to 500 kilowatts per square metre. As a result, they require one hundred times less surface area than a solar panel and are easier to install locally. The photodiodes also contain diamond to capture high power on a limited surface while removing heat without compromising performance.
“A bit like antennas, panels measuring just one square metre can receive power from the lasers. The lasers emit power over distances covering 1 to 100 kilometres, and each antenna will generate enough electricity to supply entire villages, or about 1’500 households, using a moderate amount of electricity,”
- Alex Kummerman, LakeDiamond Chief Investment Officer
Instead of giving the precious gems to remote villages, combining lasers with photodiodes will bring the electricity needed to power hospitals, schools, small businesses and village infrastructure.
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