Thermoelectrics: Impacts on the Environment and Sustainability

Energy saving in power generation, industry, transport, and residential applications by using waste heat with thermoelectrics (TE) may be important for an environmentally sound and sustainable energy system. It is probable that operable TE generators (TEG) will be developed for numerous applications and will save energy and reduce CO₂ emissions from plants. However, the environmental profile of a technology is not sufficiently described by just the energy and CO₂ inputs and outputs of the core process. Necessary preceding and subsequent processes, other environmental impacts, and competing technologies have to be considered as well. Furthermore, sustainability covers aspects beyond environmental soundness. So far, comprehensive studies on TE and the environment/sustainability have not been available. In this paper, the following selected aspects are discussed: resource availability, specific energy consumption of TEG production, specific energy and CO₂ savings in different application fields by TE and competing technologies, and the global potential of TE.