Nextreme Thermal Solutions, a provider of microscale thermal and power management products, has been awarded a US patent for the design of a solar thermoelectric generator (solar TEG) for high-temperature thermoelectric energy conversion.

Patent #7,638,705 – Thermoelectric Generators for Solar Conversion and Related Systems and Methods describes a method of using thermoelectric generators in combination with thermally conductive plates to generate power in response to solar radiation.

Thermoelectric devices generate electricity via the Seebeck Effect, where voltage is produced from a temperature differential applied across the device.

Nextreme said it is seeking commercial partners to further develop the technology for large scale solar thermal energy harvesting solutions.