MIT Boosts Efficiency of Thermoelectric Materials

by Jeff Hopkins on 8/1/18 12:00 PM

New materials, heated under high magnetic fields, could produce record levels of energy, model shows

MIT physicists believe they have found a way to radically increase the efficiency of thermoelectric materials. Most thermoelectric materials, which can produce electricity when one side of the material is heated, have been too inefficient to bring into common application.

The new theoretical model, which would heat topological semimetals using an extremely strong magnetic field (of 3 Teslas), could potentially generate twice the amount of energy as the best thermoelectric materials known to date. Applications would be wide-ranging, promising to significantly ratchet up efficiency in everything from power plants to automotive engines.

This MIT News article gives more detail →

Topics: Mission Critical

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