28 October 2024

Imagine a flexible module capable of converting waste heat into electricity, whether the surface it's attached to is flat or curved. This module can also generate heating or cooling from electricity. Fully functional prototypes are now available at Linköping University.

Photographer: Thor Balkhed

After three years of work at the Printed Electronics Arena at Campus Norrköping, researchers from Linköping University and RISE, in collaboration with the Danish company ParsNord, have completed prototypes for flexible thermoelectric modules.

A thermoelectric module (TEM) is an electronic device that can convert heat into electricity or use electricity to create heating or cooling. It harnesses temperature differences: when one side of the module is hot and the other is cold, electricity is generated. Alternatively, when electricity is applied, one side becomes cooler while the other gets warmer.

Thermoelectric modules currently available on the market are used in products such as portable coolers, car seat heaters, and energy-harvesting devices. However, traditional TEMs are rigid, limiting their range of applications.

Photographer: Thor Balkhed

The main outcome of this project is the production of a relatively affordable module that functions even on non-flat surfaces.

The invention open up new applications such as wearable coolers for medical purposes and electric generators that can power sensor nodes in smart buildings and industrial environments.

According to the developers, this breakthrough is expected to have significant scientific and technological impact. The long-term vision is to establish Europe’s first manufacturer of flexible thermoelectric modules, headquartered in Norrköping at the House of Printed and Organic Electronics (HOPE).

Seyedmohammad Mortazavinatanzi, Postdoc at LiU and CEO at ParsNord Thermoelectric Filial has led the project, which is funded by the Norrköping Municipality's Fund for Research and Development. (Swedish).

Power plant, organic electronics, a red rose.

Laboratory of Organic Electronics

At Laboratory of Organic Electronics, LOE, we explore electronic and optical properties of organic materials and organic-inorganic hybrid systems.

Researchers in a lab

Open Positions at the Laboratory of Organic Electronics

Learn more about open PhD, Postdoc, Masters, Scholarship, and other positions at LOE.

Functional pi-materials

Functional Pi-Materials

Building functional nanostructures for clean energy technology through organic chemistry.

Female PhD-student, brown hair.

Unpackaged food can reduce emissions

How do consumers respond to unpackaged food? And how can the producers and supermarkets design solutions that rely less on single-use packaging? These are some questions explored by PhD student Elena Jiménez Romanillos.

Fawlty Towers - the invisible subtitlers revealed

Swedes read a lot - especially if you include film and TV subtitles. But does the subtitler themselves play any role? In search of an answer, researcher Lars Jämterud has looked at the translation of the classic British comedy series Fawlty Towers.

“Skin in a syringe” a step towards a new way to heal burns

Researchers have created what could be called “skin in a syringe”. The gel containing live cells can be 3D printed into a skin transplant, as shown in a study conducted on mice. This technology may lead to new ways to treat burns and severe wounds.