TECHNOLOGY LICENSING OPPORTUNITY Innovative Additive Manufacturing for Ternary-Phase Thermoelectric Materials

TECHNOLOGY LICENSING OPPORTUNITY

Innovative Additive Manufacturing for Ternary-Phase Thermoelectric Materials

Harness clean energy through our advanced additive manufacturing process, delivering efficient, cost-effective thermoelectric materials.

Opportunity:   Idaho National Laboratory (INL), managed and operated by Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC (BEA), offers the opportunity to explore a license and/or collaborative research agreement for this Innovative Additive Manufacturing approach for Ternary-Phase Thermoelectric Materials. This technology transfer opportunity is part of a dedicated effort to convert government-funded research into job opportunities, businesses, and, ultimately, an improved way of life for the American people.

Overview:        Current methods of manufacturing thermoelectric materials are limited by geometric and production constraints, leaving room for improvement in clean energy technology. Our inventive additive manufacturing process for ternary-phase thermoelectric materials addresses these limitations, offering a unique and versatile solution.

Description:    Our invention is an additive manufacturing process that fabricates ternary-phase thermoelectric materials, such as TiNiSn, using a polymer binder-based ink. The process includes direct ink writing with a low-cost, commercially available printer, followed by a debinding and pre-sintering process that forms a porous NiTi structure. The lattices are then infiltrated with an equiatomic amount of Sn, resulting in the desired ternary phase TiNiSn. This versatile technique can be applied to fabricate other thermoelectric compounds as well.

Benefits:          

• Low-cost, scalable thermoelectric systems.
• Enhanced efficiency through reduced thermal resistance and improved heat transfer.
• Custom thermoelectric module shapes and micro-lattice architectures.
• Less waste and more straightforward process control during isothermal sintering.
• Ability to produce conformable shapes and micro-lattice architectures.
• Non-toxic and stable half-Heusler compounds, optimal for intermediate temperatures (400-800°C).
• Utilizes inexpensive and abundant elements.

Applications:  

• Waste heat recovery systems in industrial processes
• Thermoelectric cooling and heating systems for electronics and appliances
• Autonomous and remote power generation
• Automotive waste heat recovery for improved fuel efficiency
• Solar-thermal power generation and energy storage systems
• Spacecraft power generation and thermal management systems

Development Status:  Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4: Component and/or subsystem validation in a laboratory environment.

IP Status:         Provisional Patent Application No. 63/487,495, “Process for Additive Manufacturing of Ternary-Phase Thermoelectric Materials,” BEA Docket No. BA-1393.

INL seeks to license the above intellectual property to a company with a demonstrated ability to bring such inventions to the market. Exclusive rights in defined fields of use may be available.

Please visit Technology Deployment’s website at https://inl.gov/inl-initiatives/technology-deployment for more information on working with INL and the industrial partnering and technology transfer process.

Companies interested in learning more about this licensing opportunity should contact Ryan Bills at td@inl.gov.