• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Electrical Engineering News and Products

Electronics Engineering Resources, Articles, Forums, Tear Down Videos and Technical Electronics How-To's

  • Products / Components
    • Analog ICs
    • Connectors
    • Microcontrollers
    • Power Electronics
    • Sensors
    • Test and Measurement
    • Wire / Cable
  • Applications
    • Automotive/Transportation
    • Industrial
    • IoT
    • Medical
    • Telecommunications
    • Wearables
    • Wireless
  • Resources
    • DesignFast
    • Digital Issues
    • Engineering Week
    • Oscilloscope Product Finder
    • Podcasts
    • Webinars / Digital Events
    • White Papers
    • Women in Engineering
  • Videos
    • Teschler’s Teardown Videos
    • EE Videos and Interviews
  • Learning Center
    • EE Classrooms
    • Design Guides
      • WiFi & the IOT Design Guide
      • Microcontrollers Design Guide
      • State of the Art Inductors Design Guide
      • Power Electronics & Programmable Power
    • FAQs
    • Ebooks / Tech Tips
  • EE Forums
    • EDABoard.com
    • Electro-Tech-Online.com
  • 5G

Thermoharvesting Power Supply Creates ‘Perpetual’ Energy

May 18, 2010 By ECN Staff

thermoharvesting power supply A jointly-developed evaluation kit from STMicroelectronics and Micropelt  combines thermal electrical energy harvesting and solid-state thin-film battery to drive autonomous wireless sensor applications for as long as there is energy to harvest.

STMicroelectronics, a leading supplier of semiconductors for power and power management applications, and Micropelt, a German company specializing in novel thin film thermoelectric devices, have announced a jointly-developed autonomous wireless sensor evaluation kit. The TE-Power NODE evaluation kit combines Micropelt’s Thermogenerator and ST’s EnFilm solid-state thin-film battery as energy storage for power backup and pulse current. Power management and charge monitoring circuitry connect to the included graphical user interface software via a 2.4 GHz wireless link.

Energy harvesting, in which useful electrical energy is generated from freely available sources such as vibration, heat, or light, is an essential part of building self-powered wireless sensors that do not require battery maintenance. Today, there is a growing trend towards the use of wireless sensor networks, particularly in applications such as process automation, condition monitoring, and smart buildings.

While these wireless sensor networks produce immediate benefits, including the avoidance of costly wiring of sensors and easy deployment in previously inaccessible locations, a truly ‘intelligent environment’ approach envisages a large number of sensors mounted at every useful measurement point. The sensors measure parameters such as temperature, pressure or vibration, and send this data wirelessly to a control or monitoring system. The information is then used for better process control and energy management, lower maintenance cost and more efficient buildings.

At the heart of the new evaluation kit, a Thermoelectric Generator (TEG) exploits a physical phenomenon known as the Seebeck Effect, in which electric power results from the heat flux produced by a temperature differential across a thermoelectric micro-structured layer. From an effective gradient of 10°C, the TEG generates a voltage of 1.4V. Micropelt’s custom power conditioning converts this into sufficient power to drive the wireless sensor node and charge a battery using excess thermal energy.

In the TE-Power NODE evaluation kit, the Micropelt TEG MPG-D751 is housed between a solid Aluminium base plate and a finned heatsink. The base is attached to a suitable heat source, so the cooling effect of the heatsink can create a temperature differential across the embedded TEG.

“Harvesting thermal energy holds enormous potential as a virtually infinite self-sustaining energy source, exploiting free surplus heat that would otherwise be wasted,” said Micropelt’s CEO, Fritz Volkert. “As the world leader in power management, ST was the natural choice of partner to optimize the performance profile of our advanced thermoharvesting technology.”

The rechargeable battery used in the enhanced TE-Power NODE kit is ST’s EFL700A39 EnFilm thin-film solid-state battery, a 700-microamp-hour UL1642-certified rechargeable battery that can deliver high pulsed peak current (up to 10mA) to provide power to the wireless sensor node during its communication with the network. When the base plate of the evaluation kit is in contact with a heat source, the Micropelt TEG provides power to the system and recharges the EnFilm.

When the heat source is removed, the TEG stops and only the EnFilm battery provides power to the wireless sensor. The combination of TEG and EnFilm battery balances thermal supply gaps and establishes a virtually perpetual energy supply to the attached wireless system.

The battery board, designed by ST, contains the EnFilm battery and the electronic circuitry that controls and monitors both battery charge level and the energy balance. The board includes a BiCMOS linear regulator (STLQ50) specifically designed for operating in environments with very low power consumption constraints, as well as the STC3100 battery management chip, which monitors battery voltage, current and temperature. The circuitry also incorporates a Coulomb counter to keep track of the charge/discharge status.

“The move towards ubiquitous monitoring and more intelligent control requires renewable power sources that tap into available ambient energy most effectively,” said Ricardo de Sa Earp, Group Vice President and General Manager of the ASD & IPAD Division, STMicroelectronics. “With ST’s world-leading expertise in power management, we are ideally placed to work with innovative companies such as Micropelt to ensure that their novel energy harvesting technologies deliver optimal performance and high reliability at minimum cost.”

The wireless sensor module included in the evaluation kit was designed by Micropelt to establish a versatile ultra-low power link to its graphical user interface named TE-Power SCOPE. The software displays and logs essential thermal and electrical system parameters, including a continuously measured power balance between the TEG and the EnFilm battery. To the user this setup provides a means to assess the performance of the EnFilm-buffered thermoharvester in an intended application, facilitating system design and speeding time to market.

Further information on ST can be found at www.st.com. 

EnFilm is a new generation of high-energy-density solid-state thin-film battery technology. It is a rechargeable battery with a high number of charge/discharge cycles (above 1000 at 50% depth of discharge). The EFL700A39 has a footprint of 25.4 x 25.4mm and, with a thickness of just 0.2mm, it can be used in systems where thickness is a critical parameter.

The battery can be recharged to 80% of its initial capacity in 20 min by applying a constant voltage of 4.2Vdc, no need for charge-current limiting. EnFilm batteries do not contain solvents and are completely safe, with no risk of burning in the event of short circuits or overcharging.

Filed Under: Power Electronic Tips

Primary Sidebar

EE Training Center Classrooms

EE Classrooms

Featured Resources

  • EE World Online Learning Center
  • CUI Devices – CUI Insights Blog
  • EE Classroom: Power Delivery
  • EE Classroom: Building Automation
  • EE Classroom: Aerospace & Defense
  • EE Classroom: Grid Infrastructure
Search Millions of Parts from Thousands of Suppliers.

Search Now!
design fast globle

R&D World Podcasts

R&D 100 Episode 8
See More >

Current Digital Issue

June 2022 Special Edition: Test & Measurement Handbook

A frequency you can count on There are few constants in life, but what few there are might include death, taxes, and a U.S. grid frequency that doesn’t vary by more than ±0.5 Hz. However, the certainty of the grid frequency is coming into question, thanks to the rising percentage of renewable energy sources that…

Digital Edition Back Issues

Sponsored Content

New Enterprise Solutions for 112 Gbps PAM4 Applications in Development from I-PEX

Positioning in 5G NR – A look at the technology and related test aspects

Radar, NFC, UV Sensors, and Weather Kits are Some of the New RAKwireless Products for IoT

5G Connectors: Enabling the global 5G vision

Control EMI with I-PEX ZenShield™ Connectors

Speed-up time-to-tapeout with the Aprisa digital place-and-route system and Solido Characterization Suite

More Sponsored Content >>

RSS Current EDABoard.com discussions

  • Feedback loop of TL431 based linear regulator?
  • timer event handling in C# scpi equipment communication
  • Op-amp simulation
  • UCC28070A PFC controller in DCM?
  • How to reduce the ring and spike on VDS of MOSFET

RSS Current Electro-Tech-Online.com Discussions

  • 2nd pcb design program?
  • My NE555 chips gone bad
  • Nokia 5110 HW in Oshonsoft
  • alternate of 80386/486 microprocessor
  • Drill speed controller fault

Oscilloscopes Product Finder

Footer

EE World Online

EE WORLD ONLINE NETWORK

  • 5G Technology World
  • Analog IC Tips
  • Battery Power Tips
  • Connector Tips
  • DesignFast
  • EDABoard Forums
  • Electro-Tech-Online Forums
  • Engineer's Garage
  • Microcontroller Tips
  • Power Electronic Tips
  • Sensor Tips
  • Test and Measurement Tips
  • Wire & Cable Tips

EE WORLD ONLINE

  • Subscribe to our newsletter
  • Lee's teardown videos
  • Advertise with us
  • Contact us
  • About Us
Follow us on TwitterAdd us on FacebookConnect with us on LinkedIn Follow us on YouTube Add us on Instagram

Copyright © 2022 · WTWH Media LLC and its licensors. All rights reserved.
The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media.

Privacy Policy