Heat exchanger

Solid-state

Thermoelectric generator

Electrical engineering

Physics

Engineering

Business

Marketing

Power (physics)

Nanotechnology

Waste heat

Materials science

Electricity

Thermoelectric materials

Process engineering

Commercialization

Electricity generation

Engineering physics

Quantum mechanics

Thermoelectric effect

Mechanical engineering

Thermodynamics

Nature Materials

Thermoelectric materials can be potentially employed in solid-state devices that harvest waste heat and convert it to electrical power, thereby improving the efficiency of fuel utilization. The spectacular increases in the efficiencies of these materials achieved over the past decade have raised expectations regarding the use of thermoelectric generators in various energy saving and energy management applications, especially at mid to high temperature (400-900 °C). However, several important issues that prevent successful thermoelectric generator commercialization remain unresolved, in good part because of the lack of a research roadmap.

High-performance thermoelectrics and challenges for practical devices