There will be changes in 2023 as the supply chain re-adjusts itself, a topic I am sure many other articles will talk about. Instead, I would like to talk about the growing demand for sustainability in consumer and industrial products. In 2023, we will continue to see Europe lead the rest of the world in addressing this, but the U.S. and many other international regions will also make major moves to catch up.
There are many ways to improve sustainability and reduce our impact on the environment. One way that will see a lot of traction next year towards sustainability will be the adoption of energy harvesting to reduce, or completely replace, the need for batteries in our connected devices. Every year, billions of batteries are thrown away into landfills, so solving this problem will have a huge impact.
Although there are many ways that connected devices can harvest energy, photovoltaic (PV) cell technology is likely to account for the greatest levels of adoption in the coming years. Connected devices, ranging from remote controls and wireless keyboards in the smart home to beacons and e-Badge readers in enterprise/industrial environments, will be powered by PV energy. PV technology is more sustainable as it reduces battery waste, but other benefits also provide a reduction in maintenance time and cost, which become particularly important in large IoT deployments.