The Johnson Thermoelectric Energy Conversion System (JTEC) can achieve a solar conversion efficiency rate that tops 60 percent with a new solid-state heat engine. It uses temperature differences to create pressure gradients that are used to force ions through a membrane, instead of moving an axle or wheel.
The company, founded and headed by former NASA scientist, Lonnie Johnson, has also come up with an ambient energy conversion system as well as an electric heat pump.
The Johnson Ambient Heat Engine (JAHE) generates power from the daily ambient temperature fluctuations and uses a thermal mass as a stabilizing heat sink/source. The Johnson Ambient Environment Engine (JAEE) operates in a manner similar to a fuel cell, generating power from daily temperature, barometric pressure and humidity changes.
