Thermoelectric Generators Market

[283 Pages Report] The Thermoelectric Generators Market is projected to grow from USD 761 million in 2022 to USD 1,233 million by 2027, at a CAGR of 10.1% from 2022 to 2027.

Increased demand for thermoelectric generators in the healthcare, automotive, transportation, and industrial sectors due to durability and low maintenance requirements has boosted market growth. Amendments in automotive emission regulations and the rising awareness for clean power sources have also drawn attention toward thermoelectric generators. Additionally, rapid urbanization has led to excessive consumption of fossil fuels and electricity; hence, these generators seem a feasible alternative to use the waste heat for practical applications such as electricity production.

The thermoelectric generators industry is diversified and competitive, with the majority of players in the North American and Asia Pacific regions. The market is dominated by companies based on their core competencies. Key players in this market include Coherent Corp. (US), Gentherm Inc. (US), Ferrotec Holdings Corporation (Japan), Laird Thermal Systems, Inc. (UK), and Komatsu Ltd. (Japan).

Attractive Opportunities in Thermoelectric Generators Market

Thermoelectric Generators Market Forecast to 2027

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Thermoelectric Generators Market Dynamics:

Driver:  High demand from remote areas of developing countries

In developing nations, approximately 1.2 billion people, 17% of the worldwide population, do not have access to the electricity grid. Biomass is the major energy source in remote areas. Grid connection of villages and homes without electricity presents substantial expenses in terms of the cost of the installation of new power lines and the electrical distribution over long expanses.

TEGs act as a solution and can deliver a few watts of electricity for lighting, charging cell phones, and running electric extractors. The low efficiency of the TE modules is not a challenge when the contribution of the TEG results in an upgrade in combustion efficiency. For 3 hours of combustion, around 5–10 kg of wood is consumed, which generates energy of roughly 17–34 kW h. Enhancing this combustion is a far bigger contributor to lowering worldwide energy consumption than the 5–30 W generated by the TEG. In instances like these, the major specifications for the design of the TEG are to deliver enough electricity to power extractors, possibly charge phones, and provide power to lighting because maintenance is problematic in remote areas.

Restraint: High initial cost and lack of skilled personnel

Thermoelectric generators can have a greater initial cost per watt of electrical power output than energy conversion technologies for some applications. The practical usage of several high figures of merit or ZT thermoelectric materials in thermoelectric generators is challenging due to the high cost or complicated marketability. For instance, while fabricating radioisotope thermoelectric generators, the Plutonium 239 isotope used for RTGs costs around USD 6 million for 6 kg. In addition, they have strict shipping regulations for their packaging. However, this initial cost of a thermoelectric generator remunerated over its long life can render the lifetime cost lower than other technologies, depending on the application. No maintenance costs further lower the lifetime cost of a thermoelectric generator.

Though there is a reasonable amount of thermoelectric generator module manufacturing knowledge, the inaccessibility of design and engineering expertise needed to efficiently apply thermoelectric generators to an application poses a challenge. This impedes wider adoption, which results in lower efficiency and high costs.

Opportunity: Widescale adoption of thermoelectric generators across various sectors

Even though for a long time, TEGs have been popular within the space domain, in recent times, they have gained prominence in other sectors. Thermoelectric modules now have opportunities to expand into wider application areas such as the transportation, oil & gas, industrial, and healthcare sectors, among others.

For instance, in the transportation industry, TEGs, despite their low efficiency, can enhance overall efficiency and lower the environmental footprint since waste heat is a major issue in this sector. Their main benefits are their compactness and low maintenance. Different studies have also proven the technical practicality of TEGs in the automobile industry, but the cost of a Bi2Te3-based TEG is still too high. New materials described by low costs and larger working ranges should permit the impending arrival of TEGs in vehicles. These new materials also deliver interesting opportunities for the maritime sector and boost research in aircraft development as efficient usage of waste heat is gaining importance in the aerospace industry. The roadmap is to build TEGs with inexpensive materials with the help of inexpensive automated process production.

Additionally, the rising need for self-powered microsensors in the automotive industry will propel the development of microTEGs. Research on solar thermoelectric generators is also underway, which presents growth opportunities for the TEG market. Furthermore, thermoelectric generators are expected to find wide-scale applications in medical devices. Thermoelectric generators can resolve the power supply issue in wearable products by using body heat to power applications and being fitted within the device. They are useful in the case of implants and wearables. Thermoelectric sensors, monitors, systems, and other devices are connected through wireless sensors.

Challenge: Availability of prominent substitutes and structural complexity

Solar energy and piezoelectric power generation are the most prominent substitutes for thermoelectric generators. Solar energy converts light into electricity with an efficiency of 20-25%, and piezoelectric solid-state devices have an efficiency of 10-15%. Compared to thermoelectric generators, which have an average efficiency of 2-4%, the former two are far better in terms of output-to-input ratio and hence pose challenges for the TEGs market.

The functioning of thermoelectric generators depends on the operating temperature and the amount of output power required. This creates problems for manufacturers as the design must be modified according to the application. With varying power output and operating temperature requirements across different industries and applications, the design of thermoelectric generators must be customized, which needs extra money. This is a major challenge for the commercialization of this technology. Existing materials used for thermoelectric power generation have limitations in terms of efficiency. Bi-Te, Pb-Te, Si-Ge, and other traditional materials provide low or average efficiency (around 2.5%) at their respective operating temperature. This constrains the growth of the thermoelectric generators market and is expected to be the major inhibiting factor in the future.

Thermoelectric Generators Market Ecosystem

Based on temperature, medium-temperature (80–500°C) segment registered large share in base year

Based on temperature, the thermoelectric generators market is segmented into low-temperature (<80°C), medium-temperature (80–500°C), and high-temperature (>500°C). These temperature ranges depend upon the application that thermoelectric generators are used in. Medium-temperature thermoelectric generators run on the Seebeck Effect, generating a temperature differential through the module by heating one side of the module and cooling the opposite (heat elimination side). These modules have been explicitly intended to work at temperatures of 320°C (for BiTe materials), and other hybrid materials like PbTe can work up to 600°C. For medium-temperature TEGs, the waste heat sources comprise reciprocating engine exhausts, catalytic crackers, and annealing furnace cooling systems.

In the medium-temperature segment, the industrial and automotive sectors constitute a major part since automobile companies worldwide face the daunting task of manufacturing fuel-efficient vehicles with regulatory authorities making enhanced fuel efficiency and reduced carbon emissions mandatory. Stringent laws to reduce CO2 emissions have led to the increasing application of thermoelectric generators.

Based on wattage, medium-power (10–1 kW) segment is dominate market in the base year

Based on wattage, the thermoelectric generators market is segmented into low-power (<10 W), medium-power (10–1 kW), and high-power (>1 kW). Compared to traditional heat engines, which are large, thermoelectric generators are compact, simple, scalable, and affordable. Thermoelectric systems are designed to function with heat sources and temperature differences. Companies such as Siemens (Germany) play a significant role in co-generation plants and industrial applications for steam turbines from 10 kW to 1,900 MW medium power. These steam turbines work as generator drives or mechanical drives for compressors or pumps. Steam turbines are often applied in the renewable energy sector. The medium-power thermoelectric generator segment is expected to hold the largest share of the thermoelectric generators market during the forecast period owing to its application in the automotive, aerospace & defense, and industrial sectors.

The Europe region is projected to Grow at highest CAGR during the forecast period

This regional market analysis considers the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Russia, and the Rest of Europe. Among these UK witness strong growth during forecast period. Renewable energy accounted for nearly half of the UK’s electricity generation between January and March 2022. Conferring to the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy’s (BEIS) newest energy trends data, published in June 2022, the share of renewables in electricity generation was 47% during the quarter, compared to 35.9% in the first quarter of 2021. The proportion is also remarkably higher than the earlier quarterly record of 39% in the summer of 2021. Overall, wind power produced 30% of the UK’s electricity in the first quarter of 2021. Therefore, the market for thermoelectric generators in the UK has immense potential, owing to the rise in the use of renewable energy sources in automotive, industrial, aerospace, and defense verticals.

Thermoelectric Generators Market by Region

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Top Thermoelectric Generators Companies - Key Market Players

The thermoelectric generators companies are dominated by globally established players such as Coherent Corp. (US), Gentherm Inc. (US), Ferrotec Holdings Corporation (Japan), Laird Thermal Systems, Inc. (UK), and Komatsu Ltd. (Japan). These players have adopted various growth strategies such as new product launches, new service launches, contracts, partnerships, agreements, collaborations, and expansions to further expand their presence in the thermoelectric generators market.

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Scope of the Report

Thermoelectric Generators Market Highlights

This research report categorizes the thermoelectric generators market based on application, vertical, type, temperature, wattage, component, material and region.

Recent Developments

• In November 2022, Laird Thermal Systems, Inc. developed new 5000 watt liquid-to-air water heat exchanger solution series, namely LA5000 for data centers and industrial applications.
• In February 2022, Laird Thermal Systems, Inc. launched a new PowerCycling PCX Elongated Thermoelectric Cooler to boost the PCR testing speed. It is designed for DNA amplification, analytical, and medical applications.

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