New technology that can turn waste heat into energy is about to be tested in very real world conditions. In separate field tests for the US Air Force and the US Army, Alphabet Energywill test their technology which generates electricity in a solid state phase by sucking up waste heat.The two pilot programs that will be run by the Air Force and the Army are valued at $750,000 and $730,000 respectively, and will test this technology for use in battlefield situations. The approach by Alphabet Energy is very innovative, using thermoelectric materials to generate electricity in a solid state.
There are no moving parts involved in this technology at all, and the entire process works through a feedback mechanism that takes energy out of a process that already exists and puts it back in as usable electricity.
While the initial tests are being carried out in a military environment, there are a huge range of different applications for this recovered waste heat technology. Some possible applications might include metal refining, glass and cement production, automobile manufacturing, and indeed any other industry that has a usable level of waste heat.
Alphabet Energy have published a number of thought provoking statistics at its website:
- Over 60% of the energy we produce is wasted as heat.
- More than half of the energy in a barrel of oil leaves car exhaust as waste heat.
- Alphabet’s technology will be able to offset more than 500 million tonnes of carbon annually.
- Enough electricity could be produced from waste heat worldwide to power the entire United States.
- More waste heat is produced in China, the US, and the EU than total energy throughout the rest of the world, combined.
- Waste heat recovery has the ability to offset 10% of all US greenhouse gas emissions.
- Electricity generated from waste heat is 100% clean.
- Waste heat recovery could replace 600 coal-fired power plants in the US alone.
- Every year, 8,500 Kilowatt-hour of high-quality waste heat are produced in the US.
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