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Patent MarketPlace: Wind Power, Solar Power and Other Energy Patents

Film-Based Thermoelectric Elements and Modules (Iosad): U.S.-European Patent Portfolio

One of the major advances in power generation is the growth of thermoelectric generators. These devices capture heat from factories, refineries, chemical and food plants, and other facilities to generate electric power from energy that was previously waste. As a result, demand for thermoelectric generators is huge and continues to grow. Any incremental improvement in the efficiency of thermoelectric generators will have a significant impact. Various electronic devices such as drones, especially underwater drones, a wide range of Internet of Things devices, and remote or medical sensors are equipped with thermoelectric generators to make them autonomous and eliminate the need for regular battery replacement. Thermoelectric elements and modules of this portfolio can also be used as heat pumps as well as for building climatization, especially in combination with thermal storage materials.

Thermoelectric modules are flexible and, therefore, suitable for large-area applications – for example, they can be integrated into walls of compartments. Moreover, the density of the thermoelectric elements can be adapted according to the density of heat fluxes. This portfolio’s technology is applicable to thermoelectric elements employing single layers of p-type or n-type thermoelectric layers as legs and p-n junctions. The scope of protection of the portfolio includes substrate-based and substrate-free thermoelectric elements. Printed circuit boards with metallization pads can be employed as substrates. The substrate-free thermoelectric elements employ metal foil electrodes. Such a configuration enables substantial price reduction and roll-to-roll manufacturing with high throughput. Thermoelectric legs can be formed by additive technologies like printing.

The p-n junction configuration is more efficient than conventional thermoelectric elements employing single p or n legs. A thermal gradient applied along the interface of a p-n junction decouples the looped generation-recombination currents in the p-n junction. These are at least one order of magnitude higher than the net current between the electrodes of the p-n junction.

U.S.-European Patent Portfolio