Fujikura Ltd. (President & CEO: Masahiko Ito) announced that it has developed a maintenance-free power supply using dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC), an energy harvesting device, in collaboration with NGK Insulators, Ltd. and e-peas(Belgium), and started providing evaluation samples.

Use of IoT devices are expanding thanks to the development of network communication technology including the evolution of 5G or LPWAN (Low-Power Wide-Area Network)*. However, when conventional batteries are used as their power source, the need for battery maintenance, such as inspection and replacement, increases the time and cost of operation and causes interruptions in data collection.

To solve this problem, light energy harvesting technology that converts minute light energy around us into electricity is effective. Photovoltaic power generation using this technology will achieve high performance only when it is designed by appropriately combining a voltage conversion IC and a power storage element with a high-efficiency photovoltaic element such as DSSC developed by us. However, since it takes time and effort to prepare these devices and design and fabricate the power supply circuit, there have been limited opportunities for customers to evaluate such power supply technology.

To solve such challenge, we have developed a thin, compact, and maintenance-free power supply that stably outputs DC3V by integrating our DSSC with a voltage conversion IC and power storage element in collaboration with NGK Insulators, Ltd., a power storage device maker, and e-peas, a power management IC maker. By replacing existing batteries with this, it will be possible to operate uninterrupted data communication for a long term without battery maintenance for IoT devices, and to deploy more fine-tuned remote sensing in multiple points.

Benefits realized by utilizing maintenance-free power supply using our DSSC:
・Get freed from maintenance of battery replacement of IoT devices.
・Covers the increase in power consumption due to improved wireless communication reliability.
・Performing arithmetic processing on IoT devices would even be possible when the power supply has spare capacity.

We will contribute to realize an environmentally friendly and comfortable society by developing and providing IoT devices that incorporate photovoltaics that convert light energy into electricity which has been difficult to utilize effectively.

We have a special website with information about our IoT solutions and this evaluation sample, so please visit our website.

About IoT solution: https://eh-iot.fujikura.jp/
About this evaluation sample: https://dsc.fujikura.jp/en

* LPWAN (Low-Power Wide-Area Network): Technology to enable long-distance and wide-area communication with low power consumption.