I-Corps: High Temperature Thermometric Materials for Power Generation

Purdue University, West Lafayette IN

Investigators

Abstract

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is to discover the commercial opportunity for high temperature thermoelectric materials and devices. A total of ~2600 trillion BTU/year of wasted heat energy are generated during US industrial processes, which can be directly converted into 16GWh of electricity using the outlined high temperature thermoelectric device. The value of this generated energy is estimated to be $14 billion/year using current electricity pricing, $0.10/KWh. During the course of this program the team will investigate the potential market to determine customer?s needs and the key requirements for a viable solution. Our customer discovery will begin with the target industry power generation. If this market offers limited potential, we will explore other potential markets, such as portable electronics and chemical processing, to explore their needs and requirements. This I-Corps project uses structured hypothesis-validation approach to develop commercial translation plan of high temperature thermoelectric materials and devices. This will include determining: value proposition; customer/user-case; demand creation; channel development; revenue model; partnership strategy; and resource development. The fundamental knowledge to be used includes: 1) tuning the thermoelectric properties of nitrides and oxides through controlling nanostructure length-scale and 2) developing cost-effective materials processing technology for nanostructure thermoelectric materials. As a result, a market specific prototype of a non-toxic and cost effective thermoelectric device may be developed to enable large-scale waste heat harvesting in the high temperature regime.