Song L., Aravindhan A., Li J., Nouchokgwe Y., Khalil M., Ni F., Bousri N., Ramírez O., Polesel-Maris J., Gérard M., Glinsek S., Prah U., Bouton O., Usui T., Hirose S., Kovacova V., Defay E.
Joule, vol. 10, n° 5, art. no. 102340, 2026
Developing sustainable electricity sources remains a critical challenge of this century. Pyroelectric materials offer a promising approach for transforming waste heat into electric power. However, their practical application has been constrained by very low power outputs, typically ranging from microwatts to milliwatts. Here we present a macroscopic pyroelectric generator that continuously delivers 1 W of electric power by running an Olsen cycle with 4.3 cm³ of active pyroelectric material. Moreover, the maximum power density of our generator reaches 400 W per liter of active materials. We also demonstrate an autonomous system exclusively powered by a pyroelectric generator following a Stirling cycle. This advancement underscores the potential of nonlinear pyroelectric generators as a highly competitive technology for harvesting low-grade waste energy.
