A research team headed by Professor Hiroyuki Taro of the Graduate School of Science and Engineering at Hirosaki University in Japan announced on the 25th that they have developed a new type of iron-cobalt alloy that can generate electricity under slight shaking. The efficiency of its vibration power generation is that of iron-antimony alloys. About 2.5 times that of ceramic materials.

Vibration power generation refers to the conversion of vibrational mechanical energy into electrical energy. As a new energy source, it attracts scientists from all over the world to conduct research.

Researchers at Hirosaki University found that when vibration-generated power is generated from magnetically strained metal materials, the power generation efficiency differs depending on the composition of the alloy. After repeated research for 3 years, they finally succeeded in manufacturing the new type of iron-cobalt alloy.

At a lower vibration frequency of tens of Hertz, a new alloy material with a length of 2 cm, a width of 2 mm, and a thickness of 1 mm can reach an output power of 0.17 watts, which is equivalent to the iron that was previously considered to be the most suitable for vibration power generation. About 2.5 times of the alloy is 10 times that of the ceramic material. If the material is larger, it can obtain several watts of output power and reach the highest level in the world.

Nowadays, ordinary ceramic materials are used for generating electricity with little power for vibration and are easily destroyed. The newly-developed iron-cobalt alloy has ten times more strength than ceramic materials in addition to its large power generation. In addition, in the field of vibration power generation, rare earth giant magnetostrictive materials have also been widely used, but due to the depletion of rare earths containing resources, the cost is relatively high, but also very fragile. Iron-cobalt alloys are inexpensive and high-strength and can be easily processed into various shapes. Power generation devices from millimeters to several meters can be used.

If this iron-cobalt alloy is put into practical use, it is possible to make a remote controller that generates electricity by pressing a button and does not require a battery, a street lamp that uses road vibration to provide electric power, and so on, so that vibration energy that has been ignored so far is expected to become a new energy source.