@misc{1173, keywords = {Invited}, author = {Cronin Vining}, title = {The Limited Role for Thermoelectrics in the Climate Crisis}, abstract = {Prepared at the request of the Office of Honorable Al Gore & Mrs. Tipper Gore for presentation at a Solutions Summit panel on ‘Nanotechnology and New Materials’ held May 1, 2008 in New York City The climate crisis presents unique and largely unprecedented social, economic, political and technical challenges. The technical challenges, though enormous, may prove the most tractable of all. Among the technical challenges is the development of energy technologies with much reduced environmental impact This note provides an overview of thermoelectric technology, a solid state ‘heat engine’ capable of converting heat to electricity or alternatively converting electricity into cooling. Such an overview is timely because thermoelectric technology has made significant scientific progress in recent years and its potential to reduce the environmental impact of electrical power generation has been discussed. While the science, technology and business of thermoelectrics has never been stronger than today, the opportunity for a material impact on the climate crisis appears limited. Only a single application, recovery of vehicle waste heat, appears plausible in this respect. And even that application faces stiff barriers.}, year = {2008}, journal = {Nanotechnology and New Materials}, month = {2008/05/01/}, address = {New York, New York}, url = {http://cvining.com/system/files/articles/vining/presentations/20080501-Summit-Vining-final.pdf}, }