Energy harvesting near room temperature using a thermomagnetic generator with a pretzel-like magnetic flux topology

To date, there are very few technologies available for the conversion of low-temperature waste heat into electricity. Thermomagnetic generators are one approach proposed more than a century ago. Such devices are based on a cyclic change of magnetization with temperature. This switches a magnetic flux and, according to Faraday’s law, induces a voltage. Here we demonstrate that guiding the magnetic flux with an appropriate topology of the magnetic circuit improves the performance of thermomagnetic generators by orders of magnitude. Through a combination of experiments and simulations, we show that a pretzel-like topology results in a sign reversal of the magnetic flux. This avoids the drawbacks of previous designs, namely, magnetic stray fields, hysteresis and complex geometries of the thermomagnetic material. Our demonstrator, which is based on magnetocaloric plates, illustrates that this solid-state energy conversion technology presents a key step towards becoming competitive with thermoelectrics for energy harvesting near room temperature.