SBIR Phase I:Nano Procssing of High Temperature Ceramic Oxide Thermoelectric Materials for Enhanced Performance

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a novel and cost-effective processing and manufacturing route to produce high-temperature ceramic oxide thermoelectric materials comprised of nanosized ( 800 C), with enhanced thermoelectric properties. As the conservation of energy resources and associated environmental concerns become more critical, societal interest in utilizing thermoelectric devices to generate electricity from waste heat has grown. Thermoelectrics can function in many specialized applications, but have been hindered by a relatively low efficiency and high material costs. Current materials also have production scalability concerns. A new low-cost, high-temperature, high figure-of-merit thermoelectric material is necessary to satisfy commercial demands. The materials to be developed in this project will enable increased market adoption by allowing waste energy harvesting at high temperatures with a relatively low expected low cost of production (under $3/watt). Potential early adopters of these materials include the glass industry, steelmakers, and the automobile industry. According to recent studies, there is almost $300 million worth of wasted energy per year in the glass industry alone. The estimated market for these materials in vehicles is more than $1 billion. This same material processing technology can be adapted for future applications in high ionic conductors for battery and fuel cell technologies, and other ceramic industrial materials.