thermoelectricity

Materials scientists have spun together carbon nanotubes into a fabric that promises a versatile and inexpensive way to transform heat into usable electricity.

Researchers at Wake Forest's Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials announced yesterday the creation of a thermoelectric device they say could open up new energy-harvesting applications.

The university is seeking to find investors to commercialize the technology, called Power Felt. If successfully developed further, it has the potential to use body heat from clothing to power an iPod or cell phone or power medical monitoring equipment from a wound wrap. Its makers also hope Power Felt … Read more

Charging gadgets out in the wilderness is a challenge, but the BioLite CampStove could change that for the power-hungry. This 2-pound portable device features a USB port that can power or charge devices while you burn biomass.

So how does it work? Well, the thermal energy of the fire delivers power to fans inside the stove through a thermoelectric module. These fans blow air on the fire to improve combustion, which in turn creates excess energy. A USB port delivers the extra energy generated by the fire for charging devices such as smartphones, LED lights, or GPS units.… Read more

Researchers think they've found a low-cost machine for producing materials that can convert waste heat into electricity: the microwave oven.

A team from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute last week published a paper in Nature Materials that describes an improved method for making thermoelectric materials. Members of the team have also created a startup company to commercialize the technology.

Thermoelectric devices are already in use today in portable coolers or to heat car seats, either by making electricity from heat or using electric power for cooling. Many scientists and engineers are trying to improve the efficiency of these devices and … Read more

Among the throngs at CES next week there will be a cadre of scientist looking to crack into the consumer electronics world.

There will be 24 companies incubated by the National Science Foundation exhibiting at the Eureka Park TechZone at the event. By creating the zone, the Consumer Electronics Association is looking to highlight innovations from startups.

When it comes to the NSF-affiliated bunch, the technologies are all over the map, touching on electronics, health, and alternative energy. Here's a sampling.

Gamma Dynamics is expected to show off its latest developments in a super-thin, flexible display technology, which could … Read more

Startup GMZ Energy thinks solar hot water panels can pull double duty.

The company today announced it raised $14 million in series C funding to commercialize a product that will draw electricity from solar hot water collectors. It will also make small chips able to convert heat from car exhaust pipes and industrial machines into electricity.

GMZ Energy, which was spun out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Boston College in 2008, has created an improved material for converting the energy in heat into electric power. The process works in reverse so an electric current will produce heat.

Thermoelectric … Read more

There are solar panels that generate electricity and those that absorb heat for hot water. And now researchers at MIT and elsewhere say they've made progress on using the sun's heat to make electricity.

In a paper published in Nature, the researchers describe the progress they've made on a nanostructured material that improves on the heat-to-electricity conversion rate over existing thermoelectric devices.

The researchers envision that this solid-state material could be packaged either as a stand-alone thermoelectric generator or added onto existing solar hot water systems to make electricity. "Our work opens up a promising new … Read more

Rather than burning stuff to make electricity, a handful of thermoelectric-technology companies are trying to tap waste heat as an energy source.

Phononic Devices yesterday said that it raised $10 million to further develop and commercialize its semiconductor material for converting heat into electricity and efficient cooling. Investors in the series B round were Venrock and Oak Investment Partners.

The Raleigh, N.C.-based company is improving on technology originally developed at the University of Oklahoma that can be embedded in small chips. Initially, the company plans to make modules for refrigeration or cooling electronic equipment.

On Thursday, another thermoelectric … Read more

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--Promethean Power Systems, a start-up developing solar-powered refrigerators for India, has raised a round of angel funding from the Quercus Trust.

The funding, finalized Thursday, will allow the company to build another prototype which it hopes to test in India next year, according to company CEO Sorin Gramma.

Promethean Power showed off its first prototype this week at the Technology Review EmTech 2008 conference.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology spinoff is combining solar power with thermoelectrics--materials that create cooling or heat from electrical current--to make a standalone refrigeration unit for rural India.

At the heart of its system … Read more

How's this for a tantalizing possibility: rather than install solar panels on your roof, the lost heat from your furnace could power your home.

That's not yet a product, but a growing number of scientists and clean-tech companies are trying to coax usable energy from smokestacks and other waste-heat sources.

A global push toward energy efficiency is prodding more industrial outfits to reuse heat from their operations that would otherwise be lost to the skies.

Meanwhile, improving thermoelectric technology that converts heat into electricity is being fitted onto everything from car exhaust pipes to furnace flues.

It's … Read more