The potential of thermophotovoltaic heat recovery for the UK industry

Thermophotovoltaics (TPV) is the use of the photovoltaic effect to generate electricity from a high-temperature thermal source. This paper aims to provide an overview of heat recovery by TPV from industrial high-temperature processes. The paper reviews the relevant facts about TPV technology and the high-temperature industry and identifies three principle locations for TPV heat recovery. For each location, one example process is assessed in terms of applicability of TPV, impact on the existing process and power scale. Knowledge of these factors should contribute to the design of an optimum TPV system. The paper estimates the range of possible energy savings and reductions of CO2 emissions using TPV in the high-temperature industry.