Have you heard of thermoelectric energy? Løvvik talks about this phenomenon in the Norwegian Smart forklart podcast. Thermoelectric energy could be the answer to the world’s energy challenge.
Løvvik, a chief research scientist at SINTEF, finds the technology almost magical: heat is converted into electrical current – without anything moving, exploding or glowing.
You may have seen wood stoves with a fan on top that circulates the heat. The fan creates its own electricity using a thermoelectric element that exploits the temperature difference between the bottom and top of the fan. The greater the temperature difference, the greater the fan’s speed.
But how does it actually happen? The movements that occur in thermoelectric energy take place between atoms in materials that have different temperatures. When a material is heated, the electron cloud around the atom expands and “pushes” away the electron cloud in the material that has a lower temperature. This transfer of charge creates an electrical current.
The thermoelectric phenomenon was discovered over 200 years ago. But materials that can produce electricity efficiently enough have yet to be found. Løvvik and researchers around the world are searching intensely for more efficient solutions by combining materials and building new ones.
If they succeed, thermoelectricity could be used to create electricity from all possible heat sources, such as geothermal heat, solar heat or excess heat from transportation or industry.
Want to learn more? Download the episode Termoelektrisk energi: Å gjøre hvilken som helst varme om til strøm (Thermoelectric energy: Turning any heat into electricity) in the podcast Smart forklart (in Norwegian). You can also find it wherever you listen to podcasts.
