Efficiently convert heat to electricity with GMZ Energy

A significant part of the energy, for example, in automobiles, is dissipated in the form of heat in the atmosphere, as a rule, it is irretrievable losses associated, of course, with unnecessary expenses. However, the scientist Gang Chen, who works at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, USA, has set himself the task of using this wasted waste heat to optimize energy consumption.

Traditionally thermoelectric materialscapable of converting the temperature difference into the difference of electric potentials, have low energy efficiency, which makes their widespread use impractical. But already in 2004, Gang Chen and Karl Richard Soderberg, thanks nanotechnology, significantly improved the effectiveness of one of these materials, which provided the opportunity to create more cost-effective thermoelectric devices. In 2008, they improved the thermoelectric converter based on bismuth and antimony by 40 percent.

In order to introduce technology, inventors created GMZ Energy. Using early achievements, was developed thermoelectric generatorable to return the heat generated by the vehicle back to the on-board network and so increase efficiency. The device (thermoelectric TEG generator) creates a potential difference when heat moves through the semiconductor from its upper part to the cold (the base of the device).

In conventional converters of this type, efficiency is reduced due to electron vibration, but the innovation is to overcome this detrimental effect, and thus energy efficiency is increased by 30-60 percent compared to analogs, since energy is transmitted exclusively by the movement of electrons, and not vibration.

The latest modification of the thermoelectric generator is able to withstand heating of its upper part to 600 degrees Celsius, with a base temperature of 100 degrees Celsius. This allows for a difference of 500 degrees Celsius to convert power to 7.2 W with a device area of ​​only 4 cm2. If such a TEG is placed next to the exhaust pipe of the car, then the load on the on-board network will be significantly reduced, and harmful emissions into the atmosphere will be minimized.

Recently, with the support of the US Department of Energy, scientists introduced a large 200 watt generator, which is planned to be installed on tanks in order to reduce fuel costs. Similarly, optimization is planned in the automotive sector, where it is expected to increase efficiency due to TEG by 5 percent.

Many years of hard work have helped scientists, having gone through mistakes, learn how to select the right material for each specific range of operating temperatures so that the efficiency is greatest.

For the commercial production of its thermoelectric generators on an ongoing basis, GMZ Energy has focused on alloys with a strong crystalline structure that provides reliable stability at high temperatures. Plans for the future use of such materials as bismuth telluride, lead telluride, silicon, germanium and others. Professor Chen sees his goal as stimulating innovation, and most importantly, implementing innovative ideas.

See also on this topic:Peltier effect - the magic effect of electric current