Fujifilm has announced a new material that generates electricity from small amounts of heat.
The thermoelectric material was unveiled at the Nanotech 2013 conference in Tokyo, reported Tech-on. Fujifilm showed a small, sheet-like device that, when pressed with a hand, powered a toy car that drove around a track. Representatives from the company said that the device was made from a material with the highest conversion efficiency of any thermoelectric material ever made. Their material is able to convert a 1°C temperature difference into several kilowatts of electricity.
Thermoelectric materials use temperature differences on either side of a material. They create an electric charge from a temperature gradient across the device. In the case of Fujifilm's device, this gradient is created from the heat diffusion from a warm human hand on one side to the other, colder side of the device.
Applications for this new material could mean the end of charging our devices in a wall socket. It can be made with organic materials and can be printed in almost any shape. This means that a thermoelectric device can be integrated into clothing that use the body's heat to charge devices.
