The progress beyond the state-of-the-art is unquestionable. TEOsINTE has improved the key properties from all the state-of-the-art TE oxides studied, through most of the envisaged methods and approaches.
Socio-economic impact
A breakthrough in the efficiency of TE materials can have a significant technological and socio-economic impact on the global energy systems scale. TE generators can “recycle” part of the huge amount of waste heat lost day by day to our environment. In addition, reversing the effect (Peltier effect), TE refrigerators can be used as a “green” alternative to present-day cooling systems. These both ways of using the TE effects can dramatically reduce costs and maintenance jobs in “green” energy production and related matters, in parallel with opening new academic and industrial R&D branches, finding new applications for TE materials, creating higher awareness among the general population about the huge benefits of TE energy production and creating new and diverse jobs.
Ecological impact
The potential worldwide installation of TE generators equipped with such materials in heat engines can “recycle” 10 to 15% of the heat lost every year to the environment. Even with such relatively low yields, the global benefits would be tremendous, considering the fact that this technology has no apparent negative impact of any sort to life and the environment. Furthermore, it is nowadays widely accepted that any contribution to the global warming problem, however small, is hugely welcomed and is given full consideration, especially in well-developed countries. Making this technology more efficient, cheaper and more affordable for an increasing number of countries and people, regardless of their development stage and financial level, can have the ideal effect of replacing the classical fossil fuel energy sources altogether and lead to a zero greenhouse gas emission global society.
Scientific impact
The new data, results and knowledge acquired during and after the proposed research can be directly available to the scientific community and various industries, for future R&D of new TE materials and technologies using these particular functional materials. The new type of high-performing/high-stability TE composites which were developed in TEOsINTE can have well-quantified properties of interest and straightforward industrial production routes, and could therefore be used directly and successfully by potential industrial partners in different activities, applications and R&D schemes.
