Linkage grant follows discovery of record-efficiency thermoelectric in TI

  • new thermoelectric materials could unlock body-heat powered personal devices, such as wrist-watches

A new University of Wollongong study overcomes a major challenge of thermoelectric materials, which can convert heat into electricity and vice versa, improving conversion efficiency by more than 60%.

Current and potential future applications range from low-maintenance, solid-state refrigeration to compact, zero-carbon power generation, which could include small, personal devices powered by the body’s own heat.

“The decoupling of electronic (electron-based) and thermal (phonon-based) transport will be a game-changer in this industry,” says the UOW’s Prof Xiaolin Wang.