Using an organic polymer, Fujifilm Corp developed an organic thermoelectric conversion material and claims the material demonstrates the highest thermoelectric conversion efficiency in the world.
Fujifilm demonstrated its new device at Nanotech 2013 in Tokyo on February 1.
Rumor has it the material was developed in cooperation with Japan’s Association for Iron and Steel Technology (AIST).
Fujifilm is particularly excited because the benefit of the thermoelectric converter module is that it can be manufactured using printing technologies and organic matter. Eventually, the module can be used as a power supply for health monitoring devices on the human body and can be installed on the back of a photovoltaic panel to collect energy effectively.
AIST’s dimensionless performance index (ZT) of a thermoelectric conversion device 0.27, but Fujifilm achieved a higher performance. Fujifilm’s creation is capable of generation electricity with a temperature difference of 1°C and has a power generation capacity of several milliwatts.
In August 2012, AIST announced it had the world’s highest performance as an organic thermoelectric material conversion material.
At the 60th annual JPAP Spring Meeting 2013, Fujifilm is expected to make another announcement about thermoelectric conversion material.
