Near room-temperature thermomagnetic energy harvesting

¹ IFIMUP, Departamento de Física e Astronomia da Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do PortoRua do Campo Alegre, 687, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal
² University of Aveiro, Department of Physics and CICECO – Aveiro Institute of Materials

Abstract

The rise of global energy demand and the effects of climate change make efficient energy generation one of the main global challenges. Thermomagnetic energy harvesting is a process that allows the genaration of electrical power in the presence of small temperature gradients near room temperature. Ongoing advances rely on improving materials and devices, in hopes of reaching widespread use of this technology, hence reducing our carbon footprint. In this work, the main concepts behind thermomagnetic energy harvesting will be described, focusing on ongoing challenges and recent reports of new approaches and device designs for this promising technology.