A solid state thermogalvanic cell harvesting low-grade thermal energy

A high performance polymer electrolyte thermogalvanic cell, which converts thermal energy to electrical energy directly, is transformed from a proton exchange membrane fuel cell. The transform is realized by connecting the anode and cathode chamber with a gas tube and filling hydrogen to both chambers. Provided a heat flux through the cell, hydrogen is consumed in the cold side and regenerated in the hot side while circulating in two chambers during operation. The Seebeck coefficient is 0.531 mV K−1 at a cold side temperature of 60.0 °C and the maximum power density could reach up to 20 μW cm−2 with a temperature difference of 15.3 °C between two electrodes.