Credit: Micropower Chips via Kickstarter

Crowdfund It: Most Efficient Semiconductor Chip

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A new crowdfunding campaign aimed at creating the world’s most efficient semiconductor chip has just been launched on Kickstarter. The MicroPower Chips team has a rather ambitious goal of raising $250,000 within 30 days, but it may indeed be able to do so. Within just 1.5 days, it has already raised over $15,000, and it’s technology and aims are very exciting.

The key aim of this MicroPower Chips technology is to turn waste heat into electricity… 3 times more efficiently than anything before it. As many of you are well aware, we waste a ridiculous amount of energy as heat every day. Unfortunately, thermoelectric technology aimed at making use of that waste heat hasn’t really progress for decades, since the 1950’s. This team of researchers is aimed at finally changing that. Here’s a video about the super-efficient semiconductor chip (followed by more text below):

The potential of a technology that transforms waste heat into electricity is enormous. The matter has come up many times in the comments under our posts. Of course, if this team’s technology accomplishes the goals set for it, the global warming emissions reductions and other environmental and quality of life benefits would be enormous. How much potential? Here’s what a member of the team wrote to CleanTechnica in a message on Facebook:

“With potentially half the total yearly supply of fossil fuels (coal, gas and oil) being frittered away through waste heat via industrial processes, capturing this huge energy resource economically is seen as ‘the holy grail.’ ”

About $4 trillion is spent on producing energy through coal, oil, and natural gas every year. Half of that market (lost heat that could be converted into electricity) would equal $2 trillion. Even half of that would be huge.

Credit: Micropower Chips via Kickstarter
Credit: MicroPower Chips via Kickstarter

So, where is this research team at this point in time? Is it worth funding?

The team, which is private but is working in collaboration with Texas State University, has been engaged in stealth research a development for four years. As you can see in the video above, its VP of Engineering and Operations is the former Director of R&D for Motorola. From the Kickstarter page, the team writes:

“We have created and successfully tested some prototype chips and modules. They work great, but we want to create 100,000 chips with further improvements in efficiency and cost, and freely deliver these demo chips to industry users for evaluation.”

micropower crowdfunding
Credit: MicroPower Chips via Kickstarter
micropower team
Credit: MicroPower Chips via Kickstarter

“For quite some time we have been in discussions with leading industrial companies such as BMW, Boeing, Dow Chemical, GDF Suez, Bosch, ABB, Honeywell and 3M to name a few, and recent collaboration agreements signed with major industrial players show the appetite that the market has for our technology. We are delighted to be collaborating with companies who can see the benefits of engaging with us at an early stage to develop integrated solutions,” commented Max Lewinsohn, MicroPower’s Chairman.

There are a lot more details over on the Kickstarter page, so just jump over there if you want to learn more.

You can also get in touch with the team on:

Or the “old-fashioned” ways:

Tristan Lewinsohn, Director of Business Development.
Email: tristan@micropower-global.com
Telephone: +44 7948 219 807

This is a sponsored post from MicroPower Global. Want some promotion for your crowdfunding campaign? Get in touch with us here!


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Zachary Shahan

Zach is tryin' to help society help itself one word at a time. He spends most of his time here on CleanTechnica as its director, chief editor, and CEO. Zach is recognized globally as an electric vehicle, solar energy, and energy storage expert. He has presented about cleantech at conferences in India, the UAE, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, the USA, Canada, and Curaçao. Zach has long-term investments in Tesla [TSLA], NIO [NIO], Xpeng [XPEV], Ford [F], ChargePoint [CHPT], Amazon [AMZN], Piedmont Lithium [PLL], Lithium Americas [LAC], Albemarle Corporation [ALB], Nouveau Monde Graphite [NMGRF], Talon Metals [TLOFF], Arclight Clean Transition Corp [ACTC], and Starbucks [SBUX]. But he does not offer (explicitly or implicitly) investment advice of any sort.

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