MechChem Africa September 2017

⎪ Innovative engineering ⎪

The next IDTechEx Energy Harvesting USA conference will take place in Sana Clara California in November 2017.

30 µW/cm² is a hindering mechanism though, and so is the necessity to utilise heat sinks to dissipate heat tomaintain as high a temperature difference as possible, which adds bulk to the final product. These imposed limitations point to some fitness trackers andwearableswith low power consumption (ie, reduced functionalities) as potential applications, where powering low power wireless sensor nodes and radios be- comes viable. Matrix Industries is launching its crowd- funded smart watch, with 10 000 or so units reaching the supporters of their vision with a

few more months delay than initially expected. But the difficulties that Matrix had to deal with in order to make its smart watch happen only verify how tough the technological challenges in this market are.  For more information on these and other markets for thermoelectric power generation, insight into the ones that will sustain growth during a difficult time for technology developers who have bet on these applications for energy harvesting, visit www.IDTechEx.com/thermo. Your can be sure of an impartial view on the outlook for the next decade. q

Thermoelectrics Thermoelectric generators are devices that convert temperature differences into electrical energy. The principle phenomenon that underpins thermoelectric energy generation is known as the Seebeck effect: the conversion of a temperature differential into electricity at the junc- tion of two materials.

A temperature difference between two dissimilar semiconductors produces a voltage difference between the two substances.

September 2017 • MechChem Africa ¦ 43