Development Perspective of Electrostatic Machines

Electromagnetic machines have been dominating the industrial and household markets so far. The main cost of these machines stems from metallic materials, iron cores and permanent magnets. The current problems associated with this type of machines are the increasing cost of metals and the lower availability of rare earth for producing permanent magnet. In addition, the production of the metals such as aluminium, copper has had a significant environmental impact due to the emission of industrial wastes. In contrast, electrostatic machines are constructed mainly by non-metallic materials, such as plastic and dielectric. Only a fractional amount of metal is used to make the electrodes and the case of the electrostatic machines. In addition, the electrostatic machine has light weight, low cost and is simple to design and manufacture. As a result, electrostatic machines have high potential development in sustainable and green development of the manufacturing industry as well as renewable power generation. This paper presents the development perspective of the electrostatic machine in terms of topologies, design methods and performance.