Body heat could be the next big renewable after scientists invent ultra-thin tech to power wearables

Body-heat powered devices are one step closer to reality after a design breakthrough.

You may not have considered your own body heat as renewable energy that could be harnessed. But given the exponential need for batteries in our electrifying world - and the pressure on planetary resources that brings - researchers have been testing this alternative for some time.

We all have the potential to be sustainable energy sources for wearable electronics, it turns out. There are just some teething issues with making the tech commercial.

One issue is making these wearable devices flexible enough. Now, researchers at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Australia have tackled this by developing a new, ultra-thin, flexible film that makes them comfortable and efficient.

“Flexible thermoelectric devices can be worn comfortably on the skin where they effectively turn the temperature difference between the human body and surrounding air into electricity,” lead author of a new study on the breakthrough, Professor Wenyi Chen explains.

“However, challenges like limited flexibility, complex manufacturing, high costs and insufficient performance have hindered these devices from reaching commercial scale.”

Most thermoelectric prototypes are built with bismuth telluride: a semiconductor well suited to converting heat into electricity for low-power applications like heart rate, temperature or movement monitors.

The QUT-based team took things a step further by introducing tiny crystals known as ‘nanobinders’, which form a consistent layer of bismuth telluride sheets. 

“We created a printable A4-sized film with record-high thermoelectric performance, exceptional flexibility, scalability and low cost, making it one of the best flexible