Descrizione del progetto
Un fattore potente per migliorare la produzione di energia termoelettrica
I materiali termoelettrici, che possono essere utilizzati per recuperare energia dal calore di scarto, sono una tecnologia di nicchia con un potenziale di crescita considerevole, limitato dalla scarsa efficienza. Per migliorare l’efficienza della conversione energetica da termale a elettrica, il progetto UncorrelaTEd, finanziato dall’UE, svilupperà un nuovo paradigma che impiegherà un sistema ibrido adeguatamente concepito. Tale sistema è formato da un solido termoelettrico poroso permeato da un elettrolita liquido che si dimostra già promettente, con miglioramenti senza precedenti nel fattore di potenza. I risultati del progetto consentiranno l’attuazione della tecnologia termoelettrica in numerosi settori, quali il campo dei sensori autoalimentati. La realizzazione ridurrà la domanda di batterie, materiali tessili, fabbriche, centrali elettriche e motori a combustione con un’elevata impronta di carbonio.
Obiettivo
More than 60% of the global power is lost as waste heat. Thermoelectric (TE) materials can convert vast amounts of this waste heat into electricity and significantly contribute to the current energy challenge. Despite large efforts to identify better TE materials, still, the TE technology is limited by low efficiency. One of the two performance improvement routes, thermal conductivity reduction, has already reached its limit, which makes the other route, power factor (PF) improvements, crucial. Current strategies targeting PF enhancement have only reached modest improvements, mainly due to the adverse interdependence of the Seebeck coefficient (S) and the electrical conductivity (σ), which produces a decrease in one of these properties if the other is increased. This is a serious obstacle to achieve the widespread application of the TE technology, since PF=σS^2. UncorrelaTEd will come true the dream of breaking the S-σ correlation by introducing a new paradigm in thermoelectricity that comes from the connection of TEs and electrochemistry, using a properly designed hybrid system, formed by a porous TE solid permeated by a liquid electrolyte. The porous solid provides a low thermal conductivity, whereas the electrolyte tactically interacts with the solid to enlarge the PF. Unprecedented PF improvements (above 35 times) have already been observed by UncorrelaTEd members in this system using a material with modest TE properties. UncorrelaTEd aims at extending these improvements to different materials (bismuth telluride alloys, oxides, and polymers) with state-of-the-art TE properties, potentially leading to an extraordinarily powerful technology able to provide more than 4 times larger PF than state-of-the-art low-mid temperature (<150 ºC) materials and ZTs>3. This will enable the TE technology to be implemented in many areas, such as self-powered sensors, empowering the elimination of batteries, textiles, factories, power plants, and combustion engines.
Campo scientifico
- natural scienceschemical scienceselectrochemistry
- natural sciencesphysical scienceselectromagnetism and electronics
- engineering and technologymaterials engineeringtextiles
- natural scienceschemical sciencesinorganic chemistrypost-transition metals
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectronic engineeringsensors
Programma(i)
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Vedi altri progetti per questo bandoBando secondario
H2020-FETOPEN-2018-2019-2020-01
Meccanismo di finanziamento
RIA - Research and Innovation actionCoordinatore
12006 Castellon De La Plana
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