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Concentrated solar thermoelectric generators

2012; Royal Society of Chemistry; Volume: 5; Issue: 10 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1039/c2ee22248e

1754-5706

Lauryn L. Baranowski, G. Jeffrey Snyder, Eric S. Toberer,

Perovskite Materials and Applications

Solar thermoelectric generators (STEGs) are solid state heat engines that generate electricity from concentrated sunlight. In this paper, we develop a novel detailed balance model for STEGs and apply this model to both state-of-the-art and idealized materials. This model uses thermoelectric compatibility theory to provide analytic solutions to device efficiency in idealized materials with temperature-dependent properties. The results of this modeling allow us to predict maximum theoretical STEG efficiencies and suggest general design rules for STEGs. With today's materials, a STEG with an incident flux of 100 kW m−2 and a hot side temperature of 1000 °C could achieve 15.9% generator efficiency, making STEGs competitive with concentrated solar power plants. Future developments will depend on materials that can provide higher operating temperatures or higher material efficiency. For example, a STEG with zT = 2 at 1500 °C would have an efficiency of 30.6%.