Apr 14, 2022 21:00:00

A heat engine that can convert heat into electricity with higher efficiency than a steam turbine without moving parts is born

Engineers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the

National Institute of Renewable Energy (NREL) have jointly invented a heat engine without moving parts. The new heat engine created by the research team is capable of converting heat to electricity with an efficiency of over 40%, which is better than traditional steam turbines .

Thermophotovoltaic efficiency of 40% | Nature
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04473-y

A new heat engine with no moving parts is as efficient as a steam turbine | MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology
https://news.mit.edu/2022/thermal-heat-engine-0413

The new thermal engine developed by MIT and NREL is a solar cell-like thermophotovoltaic (TPV) cell that produces electricity by converting the emitted light from a hot heat source into electrical energy. According to the research team, the newly developed heat engine can generate electricity from a heat source of 1900 to 2400 degrees Celsius.

The photo below shows a TPV cell developed by the research team attached to a heat sink. The size of the TPV cell is as small as 1 cm in length x 1 cm in width.

The research team plans to incorporate the TPV cell into a grid-scale thermal battery. This makes it possible to store 'excessive energy' from renewable energies such as sunlight in a tightly insulated storage made of hot graphite. This makes it possible to generate electricity from heat energy even on cloudy days.

The research team has only demonstrated the key parts of the new TPV cell in individual small-scale experiments, but has not succeeded in integrating all the parts and ensuring that the entire system works perfectly. That's why the research team is working towards a complete demonstration of the system. By using a heat engine, the research team is looking forward to the realization of a 'decarbonized power grid that can generate electricity using only renewable energy' that will replace the existing fossil fuel power plant.

Professor Asegun Henry of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at MIT, who was involved in the development, said, 'TPV cells are the last important step to prove that thermal batteries are a viable concept. Thermal batteries proliferate renewable energy. It is indispensable for a completely decarbonized power network, 'he said, saying that this TPV cell is indispensable for breaking away from fossil fuels.