The Science Behind the Efficiency

Discover the thermoelectric principles that enable MicroPower's modules to reach 14% module efficiency at 550°C – several times the efficiency typically reported for commercial bismuth telluride modules at lower hot-side temperatures.

The Seebeck Effect

Thermoelectric power generation is rooted in a fundamental physics principle discovered in 1821: when a single semiconductor material is exposed to a temperature difference, charge carriers redistribute and generate a voltage across it.

This is the Seebeck Effect. Hot electrons in the heated end gain energy and drift toward the cold end. The energy difference between the hot and cold sides creates a flow of charge carriers – and that flow is electrical current. Practical modules use both n-type and p-type semiconductor "legs" together to make better use of the heat flowing through the module – more current per unit of heat – but the effect itself does not require two materials. MicroPower also holds a patent on a single-semiconductor module configuration.

In a MicroPower thermoelectric module, the levers that turn the Seebeck Effect into usable power are straightforward: a larger temperature difference (or a larger leg cross-section) drives more current through each leg, and stacking more legs in series builds the module's output voltage. Together, more current and more voltage mean more power.

Thermoelectric module cross-section Hot surface at top, cold surface at bottom, alternating n-type and p-type semiconductor legs connected by metal straps. Heat flows downward, current flows through the legs and out as electrical load. HOT SIDE · 300–800°C n p n p n p barrier layer COLD SIDE · 40–100°C heat flow LOAD direct DC current

The Energy-Sorting Barrier Layer

MicroPower's proprietary chip architecture – multiplies power density beyond what the base materials alone can deliver

Molecular Beam Epitaxy chamber used to grow the energy-sorting barrier layer at atomic precision
Molecular beam epitaxy chamber – where the energy-sorting barrier layer is grown one atomic layer at a time.

What's the Problem?

In a conventional thermoelectric chip, hot electrons flow from the hot side to the cold side – but slow, low-energy electrons flow back the other way and largely cancel them out. The result: a fraction of the useful current the temperature gradient could in principle drive.

The MicroPower Solution

We grow a proprietary energy-sorting barrier layer inside the chip. It acts like a one-way bouncer: it lets the high-energy hot electrons through to the cold side and blocks the ohmic backflow. Same temperature gradient, much larger useful current and voltage from the same chip.

The barrier is deposited using Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) – the same atomic-precision technique used in advanced semiconductor manufacturing. It is a patented MicroPower architecture (foundational IP from the 2002 APL and 2005 JAP physics publications), with multiple barriers stackable on a single chip to dial in performance.

Demonstrated effect on PbTe chips: 1.5–1.8× power density at chip level on top of the base material's performance. This is an enhancement layer – part of MicroPower's post-funding production roadmap, not a feature of current modules.

What enables today's 14% module efficiency at 550°C: the underlying PbTe/TAGS material system and the high-temperature contact and thermal-interface structures – informed by MicroPower's early collaboration with the U.S. Army Research Laboratory and substantially evolved internally since. The barrier layer multiplies on top of that.

Material-Agnostic Platform

One manufacturing approach, multiple markets

MicroPower's chip platform works across multiple semiconductor material systems, each optimized for different thermal ranges and applications.

PbTe/TAGS

Designed for 300–1000°C+. Field-proven continuous operation 440–550°C; higher-temperature reliability is a design target. Ideal for steel mills, cement plants, and industrial furnaces.

Module Efficiency at 550°C: 14% (extrapolated from ARL chip-level evaluation)

BiTe

Low-temperature specialist. Covers the low-temperature tail in power and cooling, plus cascade-cooling below −150°C. MicroPower's BiTe formulations deliver ~2× the COP of best-in-class commercial Peltier devices under ordinary conditions.

Cooling Potential: Projected 2× advantage based on material properties

HgCdTe & InSb

Infrared and cryogenic specialists. Demonstrated below -150°C. Unlocks applications in cell banking, gene therapy, and advanced research.

Cryogenic Capability: <-150°C

One Platform, Both Directions

The underlying thermoelectric architecture is reversible: a temperature gradient generates current (Seebeck), and applied current pumps heat (Peltier). Productised power-generation and precision-cooling systems require different materials, packaging and integration designs.

Dual-mode thermoelectric operation Two panels show the same module. Left: heat input at top and cold at bottom produce DC current (Seebeck effect, power generation). Right: DC current input pumps heat from the cold side up to the hot side (Peltier effect, precision cooling). POWER GENERATION Seebeck effect – ΔT in, current out HOT (heat source) COLD (heat sink) heat LOAD DC current out → usable power PRECISION COOLING Peltier effect – current in, heat pumped HOT (heat rejection) COLD (target: bioreactor / sample) heat pumped DC IN DC current in → heat moves upward

No rotating machinery, no refrigerants, no working fluid. Power generation is MicroPower's validated commercial line; precision cooling is a partner-led development pathway built on the reversible underlying physics – productised cooling systems use different materials (BiTe rather than PbTe/TAGS) and different packaging from the power-generation modules.

How It Integrates

The same platform, wired into five different host systems

Across every flagship sector the integration pattern is the same: a heat source on one face of the module, a cold sink on the other, DC output through simple conditioning to the host load. What changes between sectors is the host system, not the module.

MicroPower TEG module integration pattern A horizontal flow diagram showing a heat source on the left, a MicroPower TEG module in the centre, and a coolant sink on the right. The module is shown with its hot face on the left edge (where the heat-flow arrows arrive) and its cold face on the right edge (where the rejected-heat arrows exit) – matching the actual physical orientation of the module in the field. DC output leads run from the module down to a power-conditioning block and on to the host load. The pattern is identical across every flagship sector. HEAT SOURCE flue / exhaust / stored heat 300–1000°C+ TEG MODULE HOT FACE COLD FACE heat rejected COOLANT SINK air / water / process fluid POWER CONDITIONING DC or AC HOST LOAD DC out

One module pattern. Five host systems.
Hot-side label "300–1000°C+" denotes the design envelope. Continuous operation lab- and field-proven 440–550°C (Gerdau, 2,500+ hours); higher-temperature reliability is a development target.

Sector Heat source Typical T Cold side DC goes to
AI Datacentre & BTM Power Gas turbine / reciprocating-engine exhaust 500–650°C Ambient air or jacket water Behind-the-meter datacentre bus
Thermal Storage Discharge Heated refractory / firebrick block 400–800°C Working fluid loop Grid or host facility
Bioenergy & Biogas CHP or boiler flue gas 300–600°C Combustion-air preheat Plant auxiliary load
Industrial / H₂ DRI Steel Shaft off-gas, reheat-furnace flue 600–1000°C+ Mill cooling loop Plant auxiliary / ORC-complement

The platform also runs in reverse as a solid-state Peltier cooler, pumping heat out rather than converting it. See the dual-mode section above for the physics.

From Chip to Field

The platform, on the bench and on site.

TEG chips beside a US dime for scale
Chip scale – the semiconductor building block beside a US dime.
TEG module close-up showing n- and p-type semiconductor legs between ceramic plates
Module – n- and p-type legs between the ceramic plates that carry heat in and out.
Four-module TEG assembly with copper interconnect on a machined aluminum mounting plate
Four-module assembly on the aluminum mounting plate – the step from device to unit.
TEG module under a spring-loaded press for controlled-contact thermal testing
Controlled-contact thermal test – spring-loaded press with thermocouple instrumentation.
Benchtop TEG test jig with copper heat block, thermocouples, and load output
Benchtop characterisation rig – copper heat block, measured load output.
MicroPower PowerBlock – finned heat-sink module, 10 to 200 watt range
PowerBlock – finned heat-sink package spanning 10–200 W deployments.

Every claim on this page has been measured by one of the rigs you see above, or assessed at one of the field sites below.

How We Compare

MicroPower vs. Standard Commercial TEGs

Feature MicroPower Standard TEGs
Peak Efficiency 14% 3–6%
Max Operating Temp 550°C+ <250°C
Power Density 11 W/cm² 2–3 W/cm²
Dual-Mode Capable Yes No
Cryogenic (<-150°C) Yes No
Patent Protection Two decades of invention Varies

PowerRing – the product form factor

Annular TEG modules that wrap the exhaust pipe instead of sitting downstream of it

PowerRing installed on an industrial exhaust pipe

Wrapped around the source

The annular geometry eliminates the pressure-drop penalty of downstream heat exchangers. Bolts onto existing stacks without flow redesign.

Thermoelectric leg checkerboard – macro close-up of ceramic P/N semiconductor array

The semiconductor core

Alternating P-type and N-type legs in a precision ceramic checkerboard. The PbTe/TAGS chip platform – combined with high-temperature contact and thermal-interface structures informed by MicroPower's early collaboration with the U.S. Army Research Laboratory and evolved internally since – delivers the 14% module efficiency demonstrated at 550°C.

PowerRing product shot on black void – machined aluminum housing with teal anodized accent

Machined for retrofit

Aluminum housing, integrated water-cooling path, standard electrical terminals. Designed to drop into existing industrial BOP without a new mounting regime.

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From industrial waste heat recovery to AI data centres, discover how MicroPower technology converts waste heat into clean, reliable power.

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