New graphene discovery: harvest energy from flowing water

flow of water over surfaces coated with the nanomaterial graphene could generate small amounts of electricity.

via sciencedaily.com

As long as water is flowing over the graphene-coated devices, they should be able to provide a reliable source of power.

"While a similar effect has been observed for carbon nanotubes, this is the first such study with graphene. The energy-harvesting capability of graphene was at least an order of magnitude superior to nanotubes.

oil and gas companies would like to augment this process by sending out large numbers of microscale or nanoscale sensors into new and existing drill wells.

solution for a key challenge to realizing these autonomous microsensors, which will need to be self-powered.

We'll wrap the graphene coating around the sensor, and it will act as a 'smart skin' that serves as a nanofluidic power generator,"