Innovation Project

1. For this year's innovation project, our team set out to identify a way in which people could produce electricity at home, without investing a lot of money and, in this way, save part of the money paid on the electricity bill. After discussing several methods of producing electricity such as solar and wind, we stopped at a concept that we found out is currently being researched as a good option to complement solar or wind farms. This is what we call a gravity battery.

Innovation Project

2. The components of a gravity battery are relatively simple: an electric motor that can also produce electricity, a set of cables, a kind of gearbox to amplify the rotation of the motor and a weight. In a solar farm, the energy produced during the day and which is not required in the network, can be used to lift a weight to a height. Then, at night, when there is no more sun, the weight is allowed to fall and drive the electric motor that will produce electricity.

Innovation Project

3. We asked ourselves if it is possible to build such a battery that we can use at home. I consulted Mr. energy researcher Virgil Andrei from Saint John's College in Cambridge to understand if the idea is good. He confirmed the project and suggested that it could be used in areas where there are no other methods of electricity production (isolated villages, cabins at altitude or, in the current context, in war zones, where there are frequent blackouts current).

Innovation Project

4. Initially, we tried to build a model from LEGO pieces and other smaller components, but we realized that, for the battery to work, it needed a height and weight as high as possible and that we could not get enough electricity using only LEGO pieces. That's why I called Mr. engineer Cristian Stănescu to support us in building a functional model for such a battery. Dance helped us with the planning, the selection of the pieces, the construction of the specialized pieces and their assembly. A large part of the materials used were recovered from scrap metal or recycled: the metal parts, the wooden plate, the engine and the speed reducers. In addition to these, we had to buy a few components: the steel cable, some bearings, a ratchet type mechanism and a voltage regulator.

Innovation Project

5. Our battery is operated by a crank, produces a voltage of 5 volts and works for about 4 minutes when it is not charging anything and almost 10 minutes when we put a phone to charge. This is just a model to demonstrate that it works. By keeping the principles and replacing the motor with a more powerful one, adding weight and increasing the height from which it falls, more electricity can be obtained for a longer duration. Also, the operation of the battery can be done in various ways: with the help of a bicycle, using a water mill or a wind mill or a solar panel. Even in the current version, it can be used to charge a battery that will then provide electricity when it is needed.

Innovation Project

6. Our innovation is that we demonstrated that such an idea can be used on a small scale and, in the process of realizing it, we discovered many things about electric motors, speed reducers and learned about mechanics. We discussed our project with parents and especially with our schoolmates. I also presented the project to colleagues from the other FLL Storm and SensorON teams. When we documented ourselves, we consulted Wikipedia, articles on the Internet related to this topic and watched several YouTube channels dedicated to technology (Two Bit DaVinci, Undecided, Robert Murray-Smith). Recently we came into contact with a school in Ukraine where there is a group of students interested in technology and to whom we will explain the principles of operation in order to be able to build a similar project, using local resources, so that when there are power cuts they have a source of electricity. This was our project. Thank you for your attention and we are at your disposal for questions.