SBIR Phase II: High Efficiency Thermoelectric Converter

这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）二期项目旨在建立一种高效、低成本的发电机的可行性，这种发电机被称为C-TEC，用于集中模式热电转换器。C-TEC是一种电化学转换器，利用电解质膜上的热再生离子浓度梯度而不是半导体材料上的热梯度来发电。这一重要的区别产生了一种具有燃料电池高效率、低成本、低维护和热电设备长寿命潜力的技术。详细的理论模型和计算表明，在类似的设备中，效率可能超过30%，但在实践中，只有15%到19%的效率被实现。第一阶段项目成功展示了低成本、高效率设计的关键要素，并创建了一个简单的效率算法，用于开发能够展示高效率的设备。该效率模型将在第二阶段项目中使用原型验证构建进行完善，然后用于设计、构建和测试适合分布式发电市场的原型设备。该项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力将是开发低成本，高效率的发电机，可以在各种应用中使用任何形式的热量。C-TEC发电机本质上比其他需要高级特定燃料的技术更通用，例如发动机（汽油），涡轮机（天然气），燃料电池（氢）或太阳能电池（阳光）。C-TEC没有噪音，没有活动部件，不需要维护，是长期发电的理想选择。微型热电联产（小于5千瓦电力的热电联产系统）提供的清洁、分布式电力使家庭的电力效率突破90%以上，这是电动汽车广泛采用的一项重要技术。c - tec驱动的电动汽车将使用国内天然气作为可再生能源的桥梁，减少排放和对外国石油的依赖，以及与电网容量升级相关的大规模基础设施开发成本。其他技术也被提议作为微型热电联产的主要推动者，包括燃料电池和发动机，但这些技术在成本和维护方面都存在不足。最终，C-TEC的成本和多功能性将提供经济优势，如快速回报，以推动采用新的清洁技术。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is intended to establish the feasibility of a high-efficiency, low-cost electric power generator called the C-TEC, for Concentration-mode Thermoelectric Converter. The C-TEC is an electrochemical converter that generates electricity from heat using a thermally-regenerated concentration gradient of ions across an electrolyte membrane, rather than a thermal gradient across a semiconductor material. This important difference yields a technology with the potential for the high efficiency of a fuel cell, combined with the low cost, low maintenance, and long life of a thermoelectric device. Detailed theoretical models and calculations have shown the potential for greater than 30% efficiency in similar devices, but in practice, only 15% to 19% efficiency has ever been realized. The Phase I program successfully demonstrated the key elements of a low-cost, high-efficiency design, and created a simple efficiency algorithm for developing a device capable of demonstrating high efficiency. This efficiency model will be refined using prototype verification builds during the Phase II program, and then used to design, build and test a prototype device suitable for the distributed power generation markets.The broader impact/commercial potential of this project will be the development of low cost, high efficiency generators that can operate using any form of heat in a wide variety of applications. C-TEC generators are inherently more versatile than other technologies that require high-grade, specific fuels, such as engines (gasoline), turbines (natural gas), fuel cells (hydrogen), or solar cells (sunlight). The C-TEC makes no noise, has no moving parts, and requires no maintenance, making it ideal for long-term power generation. Clean, distributed electricity provided by microCHP (Combined Heat and Power systems at less than 5 kW electrical power) enables breakthrough electrical efficiency greater than 90% in the home, representing an important technology for the widespread adoption of the electric car. The C-TEC-powered electric car will use domestic natural gas as a bridge to renewables, reducing emissions and dependence on foreign oil and massive infrastructure development costs associated with upgrades to our grid capacity. Other technologies have been proposed as prime movers for microCHP, including fuel cells and engines, but these fall short in terms of cost and maintenance. Ultimately, the cost and versatility of the C-TEC will provide economic advantages like fast payback to drive the adoption of new clean technologies.