articleNatureApr 13, 2022HYBRID OA

Thermophotovoltaic efficiency of 40%

Massachusetts Institute of Technology · National Laboratory of the Rockies

PubMed
Indexed inarxivcrossrefpubmed

Abstract

Abstract Thermophotovoltaics (TPVs) convert predominantly infrared wavelength light to electricity via the photovoltaic effect, and can enable approaches to energy storage 1,2 and conversion 3–9 that use higher temperature heat sources than the turbines that are ubiquitous in electricity production today. Since the first demonstration of 29% efficient TPVs (Fig. 1a) using an integrated back surface reflector and a tungsten emitter at 2,000 °C (ref. 10 ), TPV fabrication and performance have improved 11,12 . However, despite predictions that TPV efficiencies can exceed 50% (refs. 11,13,14 ), the demonstrated efficiencies are still only as high as 32%, albeit at much lower temperatures below 1,300 °C (refs.…

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Authors

13

Topics & keywords

Keywords
  • Thermophotovoltaic
  • Environmental science
  • Engineering
  • Electrical engineering
  • Photovoltaic system
UN Sustainable Development Goals
  • Affordable and clean energy
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