MicroPower

MicroPower Global is a private company that has developed a groundbreaking form of thermoelectric technology that can convert heat directly into electricity far more efficiently than current alternatives. Unlike most thermoelectric products, MicroPower’s devices are capable of working at relatively high temperatures (250°C to 600°C), enabling their application across a vast array of different industries.  Having purchased the intellectual property in 2008, MicroPower has spent the last seven years perfecting the technology for commercial use at its research and development base near Austin, Texas. The company is now working with partners, suppliers and customers to bring products to market at a purpose-built production facility just a few miles from the initial R&D base. Find out our full history here.We produce advanced semiconductor devices that generate electricity when heat is applied to one side, and the other side remains significantly cooler. The material is grown, then sliced and diced into 2mm² chips which are connected to one another and sandwiched between two ceramic plates, producing a thermoelectric module. To find out more about this, have a look at our technology section.  There are two key areas of application: creating heat (typically using a fuel-based system) to generate electricity when you can’t connect to the grid and batteries aren’t suitable; and making use of wasted heat from an existing process to generate electricity. You can also input electricity into these devices to generate solid-state cooling, for which there are many applications, but this is not a current focus for us.