The alloy is in the very early stages of development but it may become an alternative or replacement for the current use of thermocouples.
Thermocouples are two different conductors, usually metal alloys that produce a voltage proportional to the temperature difference at each end. They have been used to convert heat into electricity in items such as water heaters, etc.
This new multiferroic alloy allows for the production of electricity in broader and smaller temperature variations.
It could be used to capture the heat from car exhaust and power the battery of a hybrid or heat from factories and used as their form of electricity.
Once Ni45Co5Mn40Sn10 is tested and if production can be achieved at large levels with a small cost range there is no limit to what this new alloy could be used for.
It is incredible to think that every machine, electronic or building that we use could be on a cycle. They all produce heat that today is released as waste, but that heat would be captured through the metal it flows through and turned back into electricity to power the very product that produced it.
This is the very essence of cradle to cradle products, where no waste is produced, and a material has a never ending lifecycle.
Resources: University of Minnesota, Wiley Online Library and Gizmag
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