Focusing on "Micro Energy Technology – Power To Go," the Fraunhofer Institute will host its third symposium December 4, 2008 at the Maritim Hotel in Nuremberg, Germany. This technology symposium will address industry requirements and application-oriented research activities in the field of energy harvesting, energy storage, power management and power transmission in the low power range.
"Micro Energy Technology – Power to Go" will offer leading industrial enterprises, research institutes, policy-makers, venture capitalists and end users the opportunity to learn about the latest advancements and discuss with top executives and technical professionals. Speakers will include, Thomas, Becker, EADS (Germany), Pierre-Damien Berger, CEA LETI MINATEC (France), Dirk Ebling, Fraunhofer IPM (Germany), Robert Hahn, Fraunhofer IZM (Germany), Francesc Moll, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (Spain), Karl-Heinz Pettinger, Leclanche Lithium (Germany), Rob van Schaijk, IMEC Holst Center (Netherlands), Jeff Shepard, Darnell Group (USA), and Chairman Peter Spies, Fraunhofer IIS (Germany).
We live in an age of an increasing demand for mobility and availability. Even in transit, we generate data by means of cell phones, laptop computers, digital or video cameras and the data are supposed to be processed and communicated instantly. The integration density of the various functional units is tremendous and results in a broad variety of features which is still increasing with each new generation of portable electronic devices.
Despite strong efforts to reduce the energy consumption of the various units such as processors, displays and storage media, the overall energy consumption is increasing steadily. Since the energy density of batteries has a difficult time keeping pace with the energy demand of modern electronic products, scientists and engineers are seeking for innovative, miniaturized power systems that can significantly prolong the operation time of portable and off-grid devices. Emerging micro energy technologies have an extremely high economic potential but at the same time poses equally high technological challenges.
Customized power supplies that are intended to outperform conventional storage-based solutions have to meet high demands: The architecture of the power system must be tailored to the anticipated utilization profile. High energy conversion efficiency as well as a completely maintenance-free and reliable operation has to be achieved. And finally the entire system must be manufactured in a cost-effective way in order to be adopted by the market.
