Hybrid and organic thermoelectric systems
Waste heat is a ubiquitous source of low-quality energy that is yet to be harvested and transformed into high-quality energy in the form of electricity. Low-cost and highly scalable thermoelectric generators (TEG) based on organic materials and hybrid composites have the huge potential to achieve this. The actual market volume for ultra-low power TEG will soon pass 100M USD, and a small improvement in TEG performance or cost may open a billion-dollar market, especially in view of the booming number of autonomous, self-powered devices related to the Internet of Things. Triggered by actual market demand for printable TEG, HORATES aims to train 15 promising early stage researchers (ESRs) in the emerging interdisciplinary field of organic thermoelectrics. ESRs will be trained within a focused consortium including universities, research centers and companies that jointly cover the full chain from molecular design and synthesis via in-depth characterization and predictive multiscale modeling to large-area printed devices. From previous and preliminary results by the consortium members, the most promising concepts have been selected for further development. These include, but are not limited to, processing-induced anisotropy and (stable) dopant-free conductors by ground-state charge transfer, and are complemented by a range of new ideas to reach application-relevant power-densities. HORATES integrates these scientific and technological aspects in a complete training package with complementary, transferable skills in order to equip young researchers with a unique toolset that is of relevance in both academia and industry, far beyond the specific topic of this project.