Wireless power from temperature change

Nextreme Thermal Solutions has introduced Thermobility, power generation that uses heat as a source of electricity for low-power wireless applications. Thermobility uses solid-state thin-film technology to convert heat into electricity for a variety of self-contained, autonomous systems.

It uses differences in temperature to enable 'wireless power' anywhere there is an adequate heat source and eliminates the need to use traditional wired power sources or replaceable batteries.

When paired with transmitters, it is claimed to provide power for decades of maintenance-free operation.

As the first in a series of wireless power generators, the WPG-1 provides a constant voltage output of 3.3, 4.1 or 5.0 VDC to electrical loads of 15 kΩ or higher.

The device is about the size of a golf ball and consists of a pin-fin heat sink, a custom circuit board, the company's eTEG HV56 thermoelectric power generator module and a metal attachment plate that is applied to the desired heat source.

The device incorporates an ultralow-voltage step-up converter and power manager chip to provide up to 1 mW at temperature differentials of 15-20 K relative to ambient. Larger temperature differences can generate significantly more power.