Research yields improved thermoelectric generator

摘要

It has been estimated that more than half of U.S. energy usage is wasted as heat - for instance, from vehicles and heavy equipment. Mostly, this waste heat simply escapes into the air. But that's beginning to change, thanks to thermoelectric innovators such as Massachusetts Institute of Technologies Professor Gang Chen. About a decade ago Chen, Professor of Power Engineering and head of MIT's Department of Mechanical Engineering, used nanotechnology to restructure and dramatically boost the efficiency of one thermoelectric material. Using this method, GMZ Energy, a company cofounded by Chen and collaborator Zhifeng Ren of the University of Houston, has now created a thermoelectric generator (TEG). The 1-in.~2, 0.25-in.-thick module turns waste heat emitted by vehicles into electricity.