Saudi inventors team up for innovation to generate electricity for NEOM

A team of Saudi inventors came up with an innovation that can generate electricity for NEOM, the new $500-billion business and industrial zone coming up in the north of the Kingdom.

Inventor Meshal Al-Harasani announced the completion of the first phases of the invention, which is designed to produce electricity for a city from kinetic energy, or the energy from motion, of vehicles› tires passing on the road.

NEOM is a city for dreamers and it›s going to be a green and future-oriented place, said Al-Harasani who serves as counselor of the vice president for Business and Knowledge Creativity at King Abdulaziz University.

The future is in sustainable energy, he said, when asked about idea of the project. It took two engineering teams to develop the project together. The design involves ramp-steps integrated in the pavement with turbines operating to harvest energy from car tires passing over them.

Energy generated from the pressure and speed of vehicles in traffic is then converted to electricity. Currently, there are no similar technologies used in roads in the Kingdom for converting energy.

The Saudi-made invention was presented to Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, who earlier revealed that the new zone would provide a new way of life and the highest sustainability standards.

Al-Harasani, who has previous patents and inventions, hopes this recent invention to reach worldwide and would be recognized as a patent by Saudi youth.

Nothing stops people from coming up with inventions, he told Saudi Gazette. All they need is encouragement and mentoring. There are thousands of Saudi inventors today. Research centers, entrepreneurial bodies, and education sector plays a big role in producing new inventors.

He added: «With Saudi Vision 2030, our country is on its way to the first world. Our government believes in the Saudi youth. We are passionate about developing our country.

NEOM is said to drive the transformation of the Kingdom into a leading global hub through value chains of industry and technology.