Apple in talks with startup over new power chip
A startup developing a new thermal energy conversion chip has reportedly caught the attention of PC manufacturers Dell and Apple Computer.
Alternatively the chip can refrigerate down to -200 degrees celsius when electricity is applied, Brown said.
The chip is reportedly based on the principles of thermionic energy conversion whereby the energy of a hot metal overcomes the electrostatic forces holding electrons to its surface, then passes those electrons across a vacuum to a cold metal and captures the resulting electronic charge.
According to the report, the primary obstacle that has thus far prevented the process from being exploited at a commercial level lies in creating the vacuum between the two metals. But Eneco in its marketing material claims to have overcome the issue by replacing the vacuum with "a properly selected semiconductor thermoelectric that is thick enough to support a significant temperature differential between the emitter and the collector in order to achieve efficiencies of practical interest".
The company claims its chip, which can operate at temperatures of up to 600 degrees Celsius, can convert heat energy into electricity at an efficiency of between 20 and 30 percent.
While Eneco initially plans to target the existing thermoelectric market, its next potential endeavor will be in portable power, where it hopes its chips will ultimately replace high end lithium ion and polymer batteries used in laptops and other handheld devices.
"The company says it is already in talks with both Dell and Apple about how the chips could be used in their devices," the Green Business News reported. "Initial talks have focused on integrating the heat conversion chips into the device so it can harness the heat generated by processors and turn it into electricity to power fans or other cooling technologies."
Ultimately, Brown said he sees Eneco's chips replacing heavy and bulky consumer electronics batteries altogether, but admits there's much work to be done to get the first demonstrative products build.
"For example, we're not there yet [with Dell and Apple] on where [the chip will] sit on the motherboard," he said. "Though it is so small it could also be incorporated as part of the processor."
Eneco says its striving to have its first products available by the end of next year or early 2008.
75 Comments
No, Apple is not in talks with Eneco. Eneco is trying to convince Apple and Dell that it is not full of it. Let's keep our facts straight, shall we?
A heat to electricity converter is a technological holy grail. I can only assume that the technique they use involves periodically tuning and bleeding a pizeoelectric substance. I'm not sure how effective this is will when heat levels aren't very high.
Is this even possible? As I remember my physics, heat - the random motion of molecules - is the highest entropy state possible and that without a high temperature gradient to cause heat to flow, no useful work can be obtained.
endothermic reactions are possible and can be observed to exist. They usually tend to require some form of control or kickstart, but they do certainly exist.
Is this even possible? As I remember my physics, heat - the random motion of molecules - is the highest entropy state possible and that without a high temperature gradient to cause heat to flow, no useful work can be obtained.
An area of constant heat can't be turned into electricity, but a heat differential of any size can be. When you use electricity to transfer heat across a surface it's the Peltier effect, and when you reverse the process (convert a heat differential directly to electricity) it's the Seebeck effect.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peltier-Seebeck_effect
The problem is that the process is extremely inefficient, since the area is always under significant pressure to equalize the temperatures, and most materials that can produce the Peltier-Seebeck effect are also good conductors of heat. (It's like trying to scoop water uphill.) If they're claiming 20-30%, that's pretty significant.