The objective of this project was to develop a simple methodology for the identification of suitable energy harvesting sources for industrial processes. This provides a tool for evaluating energy harvesting use cases before implementing them. We took the following steps to define the methodology: 

• Selection and categorization of sensor types and application processes 
• Definition and investigation of criteria for the evaluation of an energy harvesting source 
• Creation of a questionnaire and strategy for an overall methodology to identify energy sources 
• Selection of an evaluation system for the overall methodology 

The methodology aims to obtain the relevant information for an initial assessment at a high-level without going into too much technical detail. On one hand it focuses on the investigation of the energy source available in the process and on the other hand on the investigation of the necessary IIoT System and its requirements. To do this, several questions are asked and the answers to each are directly assessed with a score. For the energy harvesting use case, the evaluation of energy sources and the IIoT system are compared with each other. This allows an estimation of whether a use case can be optimized and powered by energy harvesting.

We validated the methodology with a test use case. By using Energy Harvesting, modern infrastructures such as sensor networks can be operated more energy efficiently. Thus, the project contributes by providing an easy methodology to assess an Energy Harvesting Use Case, which can be adapted to other processes.