Engineers at the University of Utah have discovered a new material aimed at shaking up the power industry. This discover could lead to wearable generators and turn household items into charging stations, such as using a kitchen pot to power up a nearby smartphone in only an hours’ time.
The new material comprises of calcium, cobalt, and terbium. Using the right combination of those elements, a low-cost, proficient, and bio-friendly material is formed, which uses heat and cold air to generate electricity through a thermoelectric process.
When the differences in temperature found within a certain material produce an electric voltage, a thermoelectric effect has occurred. An extreme variance isn’t necessary, since a difference of at most one-degree is sufficient for scientists to record a detectable voltage.
The unique advantage that this new material puts forth is its eco-friendly design. “There are no toxic chemicals involved,” says Ashutosh Tiwari, science and engineering professor at the University of Utah. “It’s very efficient and can be used for a lot of day-to-day applications.”
The team believes this new material will prove useful in a variety of distinguished fields. One suggestion involves a piece of jewelry harnessing the wearer’s body heat to charge an implantable medical device. Vehicles could draw power from the heat of the engine, while airplanes could generate extra power using the temperature difference of the outside air and the heat inside the cabin.
Tiwari also suggests that this material could help countries where electricity is limited, as well as improve efficiency of modern power plants.
“In power plants, about 60 percent of energy is wasted,” says Shrikant Saini, materials science and engineering postdoctoral researcher at the University of Utah. “With this, you could reuse some of that 60 percent.”
The University of Utah’s Technology & Venture Commercialization Office has filed a patent for the discovered material. The team hopes to incorporate this technology in cars and biosensors as an initial project.
The full details of this research can be found in the latest issue of Scientific Reports.