SBIR-STTR Award

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will scale-up a novel manufacturing route to obtain a new class of high-figure-of-merit (ZT) thermoelectric nanomaterials. Thermoelectrics are attractive for use in heating or cooling systems without moving parts or the use of greenhouse gases, and for generating electricity from waste heat, e.g., from vehicle exhausts and factories. The low efficiency (measured by ZT) of presently used thermoelectric materials limits their use in emerging applications. A recently developed method provides a way for obtaining bulk thermoelectric nanomaterials of both p- and n-type with 25% higher ZT, through a combination of chemical doping and nanostructuring. The objective of this project is to scale up this method to obtain kilogram quantities of pnictogen chalcogenides with ZT ~ 1. Our materials synthesis and processing scale up efforts will be guided by thermoelectric property measurements and materials characterization. The structure-processing-property correlations unearthed during our studies will identify the synthesis and processing parameters needed to retain the high ZT during scale-up, and will provide clues to further increase ZT (e.g., to 1.5). The scaled-up process will serve as a basis for expanding the range of application of thermoelectric materials for applications in high-efficiency refrigeration and heat harvesting. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project will be to unlock and access the multi-billion dollar potential of thermoelectrics for transforming solid-state cooling and heat harvesting. The project findings will be applicable to multiple materials systems that can be used for either solid-state cooling or power generation. Thermoelectric materials already represent a billion-dollar industry, but have the potential to access a market several times larger, if the conversion efficiency is increased by a factor of two. The project will scale-up a nanomaterials manufacturing technology targeted to create new high efficiency solid-state cooling devices that can replace the current refrigeration and air-conditioning technologies based on environmentally unfriendly gases, and create high-efficiency electricity generators from waste heat, significantly expanding the thermoelectric markets and impacting global energy usage and addressing global environmental concerns. This project will also lead to introduction of a new class of nanomaterials with superior properties to those available currently in the marketplace. The project is anticipated to create at least 10-20 jobs in the near-term, and will position New York state and the United States as global leaders in thermoelectrics innovation and nanomaterials manufacturing.

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project seeks to enable the commercialization of a scalable bottom-up microwave synthesis process invented and demonstrated for obtaining bulk thermoelectric nanomaterials with 25% higher figure-of-merit ZT at 50% cost savings than the state of the art. We anticipate the results of the project to expand the scope of, and transform, high efficiency thermoelectric refrigeration and waste-heat harvesting technologies. In particular, this project aims to transmute our synthesis approach to a manufacturing technology that consistently yields ton-scale nanothermoelectrics with ZT>1. The objectives are to 1) Complete the design of, and implement a microwave manufacturing platform with a 10 tons/year capacity, 2) Develop protocols for industrial-scale wafer production from the nanomaterials for device fabrication, and 3) Devise methods to further increase ZT through process optimization. The knowhow generated from the demonstration of kilogram-scale production shown in Phase I provides the foundation for the Phase II effort. We will focus on the widely used bismuth and antimony tellurides, and their alloys. We will strive to maximize process flexibility to facilitate greater ZT gains through process optimization and to facilitate the adaptation of our process technology to other thermoelectric nanomaterials for refrigeration and waste-heat harvesting. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project will be to unlock and access the multi-billion dollar potential of thermoelectrics for transforming solid-state cooling. Thermoelectric materials already support a ~$1B/year industry, but has promise to be multi-fold higher if the conversion efficiency is increased just two-fold by using nanomaterials. The project will scale-up a nanomaterials manufacturing technology targeted to create new high efficiency solid-state cooling devices that can replace the current refrigeration and air-conditioning technologies based on environmentally unfriendly gases, and create high-efficiency electricity generators from waste heat, significantly expanding the thermoelectric markets and impacting global energy usage and addressing global environmental concerns. The work performed in the project will result in low-cost high-value thermoelectric nanomaterials manufacturing to replace extant energy-intensive methods that cannot cost-effectively produce high-efficiency materials. This will lead to introduction of a new class of nanomaterials with superior properties than that available currently in the marketplace. The work will expand the scope of thermoelectric device applications, paving the way for power generation technologies through implementation of our manufacturing method for other materials systems. The project is anticipated to create 10-25 jobs in 3-5 years besides making New York State a global player in thermoelectrics innovation and nanomaterials manufacturing.