STTR Phase I: Development of super-efficiency thermoelectric generators and waste heat management with black metal and super-wicking surfaces

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will help establish a commercially viable method for mass production of high-efficiency heat exchangers for the rapid advancement of thermoelectric solar cells and waste heat management. The advancement to be made in this project will help harvest an enormous amount of solar energy and heat energy from the environment. Thermal energy from natural (solar, geothermal etc.) as well as from man-made thermal sources is a continuously available, and currently underutilized resource with the potential to become an important pillar of renewable energy. The solar thermoelectric devices require minimal maintenance and are suitable for deployment in remote regions. The successful completion of this project will significantly improve the performance of solar thermoelectric generators. Besides harnessing solar energy, thermoelectric devices can also be used for waste heat recovery from automobile exhaust and industries using high-temperature furnaces to enhance fuel efficiency and generate electricity for automotive operations. Our estimated outcome can enhance the fuel efficiency of automobile engines by 15-20 %with around $67 billion annual reductions in gasoline expenses and around 570 billion pound reduction in annual carbon emission. The intellectual merit of this project is to develop a disruptive technology to improve the efficiency of thermoelectric devices. Currently, the efficiency of thermoelectric devices is much lower than their theoretical values due to the lack of ideal heat exchanger materials for both hot and cold ends. The research goal is to enhance current module efficiency by more than 90%. The project includes testing and validation of the heat exchanger into thermoelectric generation modules for solar electricity generation and waste heat management from thermal sources at different temperatures, as well as developing methods for mass production of heat exchanger materials. The size of the treated surfaces can be well controlled, making it possible to fabricate microscale solar thermal devices for infrared sensors and night vision cameras.