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Waste Heat Recovery Through Near-Field Thermophotonics

Project description

A better waste heat energy recovery process

A significant amount of energy can be recovered from waste heat, which is generated byenergy-intensive processes such as transport based on combustion. Current methods to recover low-grade waste heat are expensive and limited in terms of conversion efficiency and power density. The EU-funded TPX-Power project will test a new approach that could nearly double the efficiency of combustion engines and provide a pollution-free and generic energy conversion process. This new approach harnesses the thermodynamics of electroluminescence, near-field photon transport and photovoltaic energy production to convert the very recent advances in intracavity thermophotonic cooling into a new heat engine technology. The project ultimately aims to improve the efficiency of any waste heat producing process by reconverting some of the waste heat energy to electricity.

Objective

Waste heat generated by industry, transport, data processing and other energy intensive processes form enormous energy streams that is typically hard to exploit despite their abundancy. In most cases the low-to-medium exhaust temperaturess of the processes make energy re-harvesting challenging with presently available technologies using expensive and bulky mechanical turbines or the emerging solid state thermophotovoltaic (TPV) or thermoelectric (TE) systems. In WASTE-NET we aim to demonstrate a new disruptive approach to thermal energy recovery, ideally allowing a large power density and a competitive energy harvesting efficiency even for low temperature energy streams. The approach harnesses the thermodynamics of electroluminescence (EL), near field (NF) photon transport and photovoltaic (PV) energy production to convert the very recent advances in intracavity thermophotonic (TPX) cooling into a new heat engine technology. The NF TPX heat engines use the superthermal emission from an electrically excited light emitting diode (LED) heated by waste heat, to illuminate a PV cell kept at ambient temperature. This configuration can enable a substantial performance boost compared to existing technologies. To access this potential we build a multidisciplinary consortium providing access to the complementary expertise needed to combine the necessary elements from LEDs, solar cells and NF physics. If successful, WASTE-NOT can demonstrate and set on motion the development of a cost- and power-efficient heat energy harvesting technology with unprecedented possibilities throughout the sectors where waste heat is produced. At best the technology could nearly double the efficiency of combustion engines and provide a pollution free energy source substantially improving the process efficiency of any waste heat producing process, effectively providing a negative-emission energy source.

Call for proposal

H2020-FETPROACT-2019-2020

See other projects for this call

Sub call

H2020-EIC-FETPROACT-2019

Coordinator

AALTO KORKEAKOULUSAATIO SR
Net EU contribution
€ 960 152,50
Address
OTAKAARI 1
02150 Espoo
Finland

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Region
Manner-Suomi Helsinki-Uusimaa Helsinki-Uusimaa
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost
€ 960 152,50

Participants (5)