SPECIAL NOTICE
A -- TECHNOLOGY/BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY Compound Thermoelectric Laminate for Energy Harvesting
- Notice Date
- 2/22/2006
- Notice Type
- Special Notice
- NAICS
- 238990
— All Other Specialty Trade Contractors
- Contracting Office
- Department of Energy, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (DOE Contractor), Industrial Partnerships & Commercialization, 7000 East Avenue L-795, Livermore, CA, 94550
- ZIP Code
- 94550
- Solicitation Number
- Reference-Number-FBO120-06
- Response Due
- 3/24/2006
- Archive Date
- 3/24/2006
- Description
- TECHNOLOGY/BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY Compound Thermoelectric Laminate for Energy Harvesting Opportunity: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), operated by the University of California under contract with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), is offering the opportunity to work with LLNL and UCLA scientists through LLNL to develop and commercialize autonomous power for small sensors and small electronic equipment by harvesting energy from abundant, low quality sources of heat such as solar, engines and electronic device operation. Background: The basic concept of energy harvesting is to collect energy from solar or other ?free? sources of thermal energy that exist in the environment and convert them to electricity. In principle, this technique could provide power from low quality sources of energy such as waste heat at low temperatures. A collaboration between LLNL and UCLA has demonstrated that a bulk compound thermoelectric laminate can convert thermal energy to electricity. If produced as a thin-film material and operated at high thermal cycling frequency the inventors believe that the power/gram produced by compound thermo-electrics prepared as thin films can potentially exceed that of current solar cells or other energy harvesting techniques. Description: A LLNL and UCLA team has recently demonstrated and submitted a patent application for a new compound material that can directly convert thermal energy to electrical energy. Basic research is required before this newly invented material can be produced in the form of a thin film and tested at high frequency. The team is interested in partnering with a company from basic research and development through production of a manufacturing prototype. Advantages: Obtain electricity from sources of ?waste energy? rather than generated energy Sources of thermal energy are available even when the sun is not shining. These include sources such as car engines, laptop computers or hot asphalt. Scaled for very small devices Continual source of power Potential Applications: Provide power for small MEMS and NEMS devices. Provide power for remote sensors, remote actuators, etc Feature Benefit Remote Power Uninterrupted power supply. No need to change batteries Tiny size Cheaper, appropriately scaled, continuous power for small devices. Development Status: This work is in an early stage of development, and will take significant joint research to bring to market. The inventors believe that the first task in a joint project should be the production of high quality thin films of the material. The LLNL/UCLA team would perform the basic research needed to understand the growth mechanisms under various thin-film techniques such as laser ablation and sputtering. The inventors plan to provide the partnership with basic property data and the effects of nano-crystalline structure using x-ray diffraction, magnetization, optical deflection and microscopy in order to achieve the production and processing of high quality films as well as the design of proof of principle devices at the MEMS scale. The inventors are also interested in developing other related compound materials which they have identified as potentially having enhanced performance in energy harvesting. LLNL is seeking industry partners with demonstrated ability to bring such inventions to the market. Moving critical technology beyond the Laboratory to the commercial world helps our licensees gain a competitive edge in the marketplace. All licensing activities are conducted under policies relating to the strict nondisclosure of company proprietary information. Please visit the IPAC website at http://www.llnl.gov/IPandC/workwithus/partneringprocess.php for more information on working with LLNL and the industrial partnering and technology transfer process. Note: THIS IS NOT A PROCUREMENT. Companies interested in commercializing LLNL's Energy Harvesting Technology should provide a written statement of interest, which includes the following: 1. Company Name and address. 2. The name, address, and telephone number of a point of contact. 3. A description of corporate expertise and facilities relevant to commercializing this technology. Written responses should be directed to: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Industrial Partnerships and Commercialization P.O. Box 808, L-795 Livermore, CA 94551-0808 Attention: FBO 120-06 Please provide your written statement within thirty (30) days from the date this announcement is published to ensure consideration of your interest in LLNL's Energy Harvesting Technology.
- Record
- SN00992306-W 20060224/060222211741 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
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