Alphabet Energy’s new generator uses thermoelectric materials to convert heat into electricity.
Posted on 10/10/2014, 7:47:46 PM by Red Badger
Startup Alphabet Energy has its first product: what it says is the world’s largest thermoelectric generator.
Power plants waste huge amounts of energy as heat—about 40 to 80 percent of the total in the fuel they burn. A new device could reduce that waste, cutting fuel consumption and carbon emissions by as much as 3 percent and saving companies millions of dollars. (Three percent might not seem like much, but for context, air travel accounts for 2 percent of worldwide carbon dioxide emissions.)
The generator makes use of a novel, highly efficient thermoelectric material discovered recently at the University of Michigan (see “Thermoelectric Material to Hit Market Later this Year”). Thermoelectric materials, which convert heat into electricity, have been around for decades, but they have always been too expensive to use outside extreme situations—in spacecraft, for example.
Matt Scullin, the CEO of Alphabet Energy, the startup that developed the new device, says connecting it to the exhaust pipe of a 1,000-kilowatt generator will yield enough electricity to save 52,500 liters of diesel fuel a year, for a reduction of about 2.5 percent. For smaller engines, the savings would be slightly higher, Scullin says.
The first customers will probably be oil, gas, and mining companies that use large generators to produce power in remote areas. The generator could save those companies millions in fuel, Scullin says. “There aren’t many levers these companies can pull to reduce costs that much,” he adds.
Ali Shakouri, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Purdue University, says the cost savings sound plausible given the material being used, although he hasn’t had a chance to evaluate the technology.
Alphabet Energy’s system is modular, meaning it could be scaled up to make use of larger amounts of waste heat. The company is also developing another thermoelectric material, based on silicon nanowires, that could convert a higher percentage of the energy in waste heat to electricity.
Even improved thermoelectric materials, however, are unlikely to reduce fuel consumption by more than 5 or 10 percent. Other options for making use of waste heat include heating (and even cooling) nearby buildings in cities.
Alphabet Energy’s new generator uses thermoelectric materials to convert heat into electricity.
I wish they had these, when I had a wood-heated, off-grid cabin.
You may have one again...........whether you like it or not..........
I have been watching this company too.
We've been seeing continued improvement in the efficiency of thermoelectric generators, nanotech holds the potential for a breakthrough over conventional materials.
Furniture, an American Energy Resource.
Something like this could be used at oil wells. Some wells burn the excess gas. This could be used to run the pumps in theory.
Violate the laws of thermodynamics much?
Maybe it should have said:
Using No Fuel of its own.....................
If I understand it properly, these devices siphon off energy in the waste process. They don’t actually start out with nothing. They are simply using a heat source that wasn’t being tapped before.
I used to have instructions from Popular Mechanics (Or Mechanics Illustrated) on how to make a thermocouple powered radio. The photo showed several arabs with one powered by their hookah.
Correct. Their fuel source is something which is currently being wasted, for the most part, but that does not mean they do not use fuel.
Thanks WayneS...
Thanks to “heat assitance” here in Minnesota, many people heat their abode using No Money of Their Own.
They do, and they have been around for centuries. I think the term is thermopile and people used to power their radios with them before they were wired for electric.
Current term would be thermo electric couple. They keep your house from blowing up if the pilot light goes out on your water heater.
You can buy fans powered by the heat of your stove I looked at buying one a couple of years ago.
Similar to the BioLite Stove which runs a combustion chamber fan and a USB charger off its waste heat.
I will have to take a look too.
There was a company crowd sourcing something like this but smaller. They were going to use it in bakeries.
Something like this could be used at oil wells. Some wells burn the excess gas. This could be used to run the pumps in theory
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See the article above. What say y-all.
I should have been more specific — I was referring to the more efficient thermoelectric devices discussed in the article. Rather than powering a radio from an oil lamp, I wanted to power electric lights, a radio, etc. from the wood stove. The older tech just wasn’t cost-effective.
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