BASICS

Technology Overview

ENECO has developed the Thermal Chip, a new type of semiconductor device for direct energy conversion, which means it converts one form of energy to another without intermediate steps or moving parts.  

Fuel cells convert the chemical energy of a fuel directly to electrical energy.

In contrast, the Thermal Chip converts heat directly to electrical energy.

Fuel cells and Thermal Chips both convert one form of energy directly to another, but the technology is quite different.  Thermal Chips have the added advantage of working efficiently using any fuel source.

This technology has two operating modes:

• Power Mode - using the Thermal Chip to convert heat directly to electricity
• Cooling Mode - using the Thermal Chip to convert electricity directly into solid-state cooling/refrigeration

Power Mode

Thermal Chips are far more efficient than any other known technology for power generating capacity up to about 10kW, positioning ENECO as the technology vendor of choice for primary power needed for personal, portable, transportable, and small-scale applications.  For waste heat/low grade heat conversion Thermal Chips offer the only economically viable solution at any scale.

Matching the appeal of high efficiency at low temperatures, ENECO’s Thermal Chips are noiseless, vibration-free, durable, and generate no emissions whatsoever (other than those caused by its heat source which, in the case of waste heat for example, are emissions which have already occurred for some other reason).

Below is a diagram, which presents a simplified schematic diagram of ENECO’s Thermal Chip, representing the embodiment of its energy conversion technology operating in the Power Mode.

Thermal Chips have no moving parts to wear out or to generate noise.  They are inexpensive to make using standard semiconductor manufacturing methods, and they are highly efficient.  The Company’s technology solves the problem for many small scale applications, as the efficiencies and economics of large scale power generation and refrigeration do not extend to smaller scale applications.  Products based on Thermal Chips put the cost and performance of small scale and portable products on a par with large installations. There is a multibillion dollar market for ENECO’s products.

Cooling Mode

Thermal Chips can also operate in reverse – the application of electrical power transports thermal energy from one side of the chip to the other, thus providing effective cooling.   The design elements required to assemble Thermal Chips Cooling Mode and Power Mode are common to both, so in that sense the design elements have been co-developed and tested.  ENECO’s current models project higher conversion efficiencies for the Cooling Mode than for the Power Mode, and laboratory tests for cooling, at least in some cases, have already yielded cryogenic temperatures (temperatures below -150°C). However further work is required to refine bonding and ohmic contact techniques in order to assemble optimum structures consistently from the existing design elements.  See below the simplified schematic diagram of ENECO’s energy conversion technology operating in the Cooling Mode.

For refrigeration applications smaller than about 200W, Thermal Chips are more efficient than any other known technology, positioning ENECO as the technology vendor of choice for small area/small volume high value micro/optoelectronics, portable, mobile and small-scale applications.

Independent Validation

ENECO has obtained independent third party validation of its technology from multiple sources.  The Company contracted with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST, formerly the National Bureau of Standards) to confirm its measurement techniques and measurement results.  Two reports were issued, both supporting the Company’s claims.