Lower Grade Waste Heat Recovery
December 13-14, 2016 
San Francisco, CA

ARPA-E held a workshop on “Lower Grade Waste Heat Recovery” on December 13-14, 2016 in the San Francisco area. The workshop convened leading experts in waste heat recovery, materials development, and novel solid-state materials technology (emerging compositions, materials synthesis/processing, combinatorial screening/optimization, robust module designs) to identify innovative research paths for the development of next-generation lower grade (<400°C) waste heat recovery systems. Participants lent their expertise to help ARPA-E explore innovative technology pathways and determine relevant and compelling metrics that will define a successful research program. 

ARPA-E is interested in waste heat technologies that enable conversion of lower grade (< 400°C) waste heat from mobile and/or stationary sources. Potential recovery pathways include, but are not limited to: 

• Novel pathways toward higher efficiency and/or lower cost per Watt for thermoelectric generator modules and materials

• Novel pathways that would enable mechanical systems to be viable in mobile applications

• Suitable thermionics for lower grade waste heat recovery

• Suitable multiferroic thermoelectrics for lower grade waste heat recovery

• Electrochemical approaches

• Lower-grade to higher-grade waste heat conversion

• Other potentially transformative technology concepts 

Areas of interest and target outcomes include: 

• Identification of computational methods that may give predictive or directional insight

• Identification of combinatorial technology approaches that might produce new materials or be more effective at producing existing material classes

• Identification of appropriate evaluation methods and metrics across applications of interest.

• Identification of technical challenges that would need to be overcome

• Identification of other innovative technologies that meet the performance objectives.

Tuesday, 12/13

Wednesday, 12/14