SBIR Phase II: High Efficiency, Compact Thermoelectric Generator (TEG)

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will pursue the full development of a novel system design architecture for thermoelectric generation (TEG) to recover exhaust waste heat from engines and convert it to electricity. The effort will build upon Phase I achievements, which included a successful feasibility demonstration of a fractional proof-of-concept prototype and development and validation of a computer model, thereby proving the viability of this new system technology platform. The technology enables efficient performance within a very compact and cost-effective form that also can easily scale in capacity. The Phase II effort will involve improving subsystems and designing, modeling, fabricating, and testing a full TEG system for a passenger car application. Furthermore, scalability will be explored by applying the TEG to a larger vehicle platform. the broader/commercial impact of this project lie in the fact that industry has found it very challenging to develop a TEG system design that meets market metrics of performance, reliability, compactness, and low-cost, particularly for automotive applications. The proposed TEG system architecture, which includes a novel exhaust gas heat exchanger uniquely integrated into the remaining system, shows strong potential for meeting such metrics, and thereby achieving significant reduction in vehicle fuel consumption and emissions. By penetrating the large passenger vehicle market, initial market introduction could easily range in the 100,000s and much more if the cost of the product is extremely low. Broader opportunities to recover exhaust waste heat for transportation include medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, which may also be addressed by this scalable technology. Other adjacent markets include stationary and mobile generator sets, solid-oxide fuel cells, and potentially, aircraft propulsion systems. This commercial impact would greatly support national energy independence and greenhouse gas reductions.