Akash Singh is waiting for an approval from the government to install his device on trains in India

Seventeen-year-old Akash Singh likes to travel on trains. Whenever he gets in, he prefers standing by the doorways of the train, so he could feel and enjoy the wind as it moves. (As you may already be aware, India still runs the old-model electric and fossil fuel trains to connect people to different parts of the country, so standing by the doors is quite common.)

One day, during a long trip, the 17-year-old Singh wondered if he could harness the wind produced by the moving train and store it in a battery.

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“One day, I thought to myself that if we could utilise the wind energy, convert it and store in a battery, the country’s energy problems can be solved to some extent,” Singh told e27. “I pondered and worked on this idea for almost two years and eventually developed a wind converter that can harness wind energy generated by moving vehicles,” added Singh, a student of the Government Polytechnic College in Manesar in Gurugram.

Singh’s indigenous and cost-efficient device, which resembles the ‘Swastika’, works on the principle of wind energy. It  consists of four blades, each having an aluminium bowl-like material at the end. These are meant to help rotate the device, which is placed on the rooftops of the train. In the middle of the device is a gearbox dynamo that moves and generates power when it rotates.

“It doesn’t require more than 30 Kph to rotate the device. Since trains and other vehicles in India move at an average speed of 40 to 80 Kph, this device is ideal to install on rooftops,” Singh adds.

Having the world’s second largest population, India has been struggling to provide electricity to its 1.25 billion people. The country mainly relies on fossil fuels to generate power, which is not only costly but also detrimental to the environment. While some federal government agencies have installed large-scale wind turbines, these have proven to be expensive and ineffective during the summer. In effect, all the existing ways to produce electricity are exhaustible and polluting.

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“My innovation is based on the concept of eco-friendliness,” Singh, whose father is a farmer, told e27. “My dream is to create something new and innovative for the betterment of the world. I hope these devices help achieve this goal.”

Singh has also written to the government of India about his invention. To his surprise and amusement, he got a response from the Prime Minister’s Office, which has, in turn, forwarded his invention to the Railway Ministry. The device is already under test by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. Singh is looking for a positive response from the government.

“I am looking forward for a positive reply. If my idea is accepted and implemented, we will be able to produce renewable energy, and save money and resources,” concludes Singh.

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