Weekly Update: Project Clean Up Newsletter - Vol. 1, Issue 65

Date: September 18, 2026

Harvesting the Exhaust: Thermoelectric Generators and the End of Waste Heat

Welcome back to the Project Clean Up (PCU) weekly newsletter! Last week, we explored how printable Perovskite solar cells are allowing us to decouple clean energy from heavy, rigid silicon infrastructure.

Today, we shift our focus from the light of the sun to the invisible energy we throw away every single day.

Look at a global energy flow chart, and you will see a staggering inefficiency: nearly 70% of all power generated on Earth—whether from burning coal, splitting atoms, or running a combustion engine—is ultimately lost as waste heat. It vents out of factory smokestacks, radiates from the back of data center server racks, and exhausts from tailpipes.

What if heat wasn't a waste product? What if it was fuel? This week, we explore the advanced materials making this possible: Thermoelectric Generators (TEGs).