Pioneering 3-D printed device sets new record for efficiency

A new 3-D printed thermoelectric device, which converts heat into electric power with an efficiency factor over 50% higher than the previous best for printed materials and is cheap to produce in bulk has been manufactured by researchers at Swansea University’s SPECIFIC Innovation and Knowledge Centre.

Around one-sixth of all the energy used by industry in the UK currently ends up as waste heat, emitted into the atmosphere. Harnessing this to create electricity could be a huge step forward in helping industry cut its energy bills and reduce its carbon footprint.

Thermoelectric materials turn differences in temperature into electric power, or vice versa. They are used in fridges, power plants and even some smart watches that are powered by body heat.

Previous research has shown that a material called tin selenide (SnSe), a compound made up of tin (Sn) and selenium (Se), has high potential as a thermoelectric material. The problem is that the methods used to manufacture it require lots of energy and are therefore expensive.

This is where the Swansea researchers’ work comes in. The technique they have developed is potentially very low-cost for industry because it enables SnSe thermoelectric generators to be produced quickly and easily in large quantities.

The team formulated tin selenide into a type of ink which they could print to test its properties. The next step was to develop a type of 3-D printing technique to produce a small thermoelectric generator made out of the ink.