Skutterudite-Based Thermoelectric Technology for Waste Heat Recovery: Progress Towards a 1 kW Generator

The development of skutterudite-based thermoelectric power generation technology described in this work was supported by the DOE Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy program over the course of the last 6 years. This paper is focused on the initial steps towards the development of kilowatt scale thermoelectric generators for use in waste heat recovery from internal combustion engines. Specifically, the design, development and testing of skutterudite couples and subassemblies as well as the integration of aerogel-based thermal insulation at the device level are reported. It is believed that the data reported herein are some of the first that demonstrate the ability to generate electrical power from skutterudite couples over multiple thermal cycles with negligible degradation in performance. A thermal gradient from 650 C to 50 C was used to generate nominally 1 watt per couple at an estimated 9% efficiency. While the couples in this work were designed to match the heat and electrical flux of the experimental test bed for this work, the essence of the couple technology is believed to be scalable and adaptable for a wide variety of thermoelectric power applications.