Thermoelectric generators for maritime applications

The objective of the TEGmarine project was to develop a reliable and high performance thermoelectric system that can be efficiently integrated on an operational ship. This will potentially reduce the fuel consumption of the ship by 3-5 %. The TE technology in TEGmarine was based on TEGma's proprietary technology for mid-temperature thermoelectric systems. TE systems convert some of the waste heat energy in the exhaust gas directly into electrical energy, thus increasing the energy efficiency of ships. TE is a promising source of electric power, thanks to its ability to locally scavenge energy by converting a heat flow into electricity when placing a thermoelectric generator (TEG) in a persistent thermal gradient. The project succesfully verified two different TEG systems at SINTEF Oceans test engine, and four different system on-board an operational ship. Solutions for thermal, mechanical and electrical integration have been developed and verified. As a result of the project, the ship owner has ordered a full scale TE system from TEGma with installation during 2019.

Resultatene fra prosjektet er meget lovende. TEGma holder derfor på å øke bemanningen sin (antall ansatte dobles i løpet av våren 2019) grunnet at prosjektet har ført til kommersielle avtaler for TEG installasjon om bord skip. Interessen fra kunder har vært økende, noe dette prosjektet har vært hlet avgjørende for. Prosjketet kan derfor bidra til at TEG system blir en "vanlig" teknologi for å redusere drivstoffforbruket om bord skip, noe som betyr at prosjektet kan bidra til betydelige reduksjoner i utslipp av f.eks. CO2. Prosjektet har også ført til at TEGma har bygd om en norsk verdikjede for produksjon av TEG systemer. Dette betyr at prosjektet har bidratt til videreutvikling av teknologi hos flere norske aktører innenfor spesielt maskinerings- og sveisebedrifter i tillegg til bedrifter som driver med ekstrudering av aluminium.

The objective of the TEGmarine project is to develop a reliable and high performance thermoelectric generator (TEG) system that can be efficiently integrated on an operational ship and thereby reduce its fuel consumption by 4-8 %. The TEG technology in TEGmarine will be based on TEGma?s proprietary technology for high-temperature thermoelectric (TE) materials and modules, and will convert the waste heat energy in the exhaust gas directly into electrical energy, thus increasing the energy efficiency of ships. TE is a promising source of electric power, thanks to its ability to locally scavenge energy by converting a heat flow into electricity when placing a thermoelectric generator (TEG) in a persistent thermal gradient. The project will focus on the issues most relevant for taking TEG technology forward towards a commercial product for marine waste heat recovery: - End-user assessment, including evaluations of possible implications of the TEG system on the existing on-board systems. - Development of high-performance and reliable solutions for thermal management, mechanical and electrical integration for an on-board TEG system. - System verification at MARINTEK, including development of test protocols and necessary measurement systems. - Full-scale tests on board a Color Line ship, including development of test and measurement plan. The vision of TEGma is to become a leading supplier of TE materials and modules. By developing TEG for the maritime sector, TEGma will become a first mover in TEGs for the marine sector. The Norwegian shipping industry is highly international and this will help TEGma to grow into an international player in the emerging market of environmentally friendly TE energy solutions.