Ideas are like free birds. One never knows when, how and who will be struck by an ingenious thought at any given time.That’s exactly what happened to 17-year-old Akash Singh. This student of Government Polytechnic College in Manesar, Gurgaon, had always enjoyed travelling by train, standing in the doorway, feeling the wind in his hair. While he loved the experience, he would also wonder about the tremendous energy the wind possesses and if there’s a way to utilise the sheer force of it.A curious mind and an idea suddenly came together, and Akash worked for two years to develop a machine that produced wind energy from moving vehicles.
“The main problem I was trying to target is that all our major ways of producing energy are exhaustible and highly polluting. So I wanted to focus on a renewable and non-polluting resource to get energy from. That’s the reason I chose wind energy,” says Akash.
The machine is based on the fundamental principle of wind energy, but its application is innovative. Just like windmills, the machine acts as a ‘wind convertor’. When placed on the roofs of fast-moving vehicles like buses, autos and trains, it can produce energy from the forceful flow of the wind. Akash claims that the energy thus generated can be stored in a battery.
“The device consists of a four-blade set up in the shape of a Swastika, with light hollow circular objects at the ends of all four points, which would help rotate the device according to the wind. The gear box dynamo is set in the middle of the four blades. As the wind convertor starts rotating, with its help the dynamo also moves and generates power. Our trains and buses travel approximately at a speed of around 40-80 kmph. The estimated speed of wind required for the machine to work is about 30 kmph. This means that the speed of the vehicles is enough for the device to work,” explains Akash.
Pondering over his invention, Akash realized that the best place to utilise this machine would be on the roofs of trains. He wrote about his idea to the Prime Minister’s Office and was overjoyed to receive a response. The PMO forwarded his proposal to the Ministry of Railways. Soon, he heard from the Ministry that his idea had been further forwarded to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. This motivated Akash to spend some more time improving his machine, which is currently being tested by this Ministry.