WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GMZ Energy, a leading provider of nano-structured high-temperature thermoelectric generation (“TEG”) power solutions, today announced its new Hafnium-free p-type half-Heusler material, which has substantially lower raw material cost than conventional half-Heusler materials. The material also features dramatically enhanced performance and mechanical strength due to GMZ’s patented nanostructuring process.
GMZ’s mission is to deliver thermoelectric solutions that maintain the thermal and mechanical stability its partners need while reducing costs; something that is especially critical in automotive applications. With this new, low-cost material used in all of GMZ’s TEG modules, more diesel and gasoline fueled vehicles and applications can leverage GMZ’s thermoelectric generators to increase fuel efficiency.
As presented in paper “NbFeSb-based p-type half-Heuslers for Power Generation Applications” in Energy & Environmental Science, this new material invention has routinely demonstrated comparable performance results to GMZ’s conventional Hafnium-based product. By replacing the costly Hafnium element with GMZ’s proprietary formulation, the overall cost-per-watt of the TEG is lowered.
Dr. Giri Joshi, a Material Specialist at GMZ, said: “With this invention, the raw material cost of p-type half-Heusler is decreased by more than six fold. This cost reduction, combined with excellent mechanical strength and thermal stability, makes GMZ’s half-Heusler material the best option for high temperature power generation applications when compared to all other available materials, including skutterudites, lead tellurides and more.”
The Hafnium-free p-type half-Heusler material was made possible with the help of Professor Zhifeng Ren at the University of Houston and BOSCH, both under D.O.E. grant # DE-EE0004840.
About GMZ Energy
GMZ Energy is the only provider of
commercially viable, low-cost thermoelectric modules that reliably
generate power from high-temperature heat sources. The company’s TEG
solutions can increase efficiency in virtually all internal combustion
engines, improve the economics of large-scale industrial heating
processes, and even add a power generation function to conventional
combustion products such as boilers and camp stoves. GMZ Energy supplies
its TEG modules to OEM partners in the automotive, heavy equipment,
HVAC, consumer products, power generation, industrial waste heat and
military industries. Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Waltham, MA,
GMZ’s top-tier investors include Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, BP
Alternative Energy, I2BF, Mitsui Global Investment, and Energy
Technology Ventures, a joint venture between General Electric, NRG
Energy, and ConocoPhillips. To learn more, visit www.gmzenergy.com.
