NASA Awards Teledyne up to $10M in Contracts for Advanced Thermoelectric Power Generators
Teledyne Technologies
Incorporated today announced that Teledyne Energy Systems,
Inc. received an award for two contracts under NASA’s Radioisotope
Power Conversion Technology Program. The awards, collectively valued
at $10 million, if funded fully over the three year multi-phase
effort, will focus on the development and demonstration of advanced
thermoelectric power generators that will deliver higher efficiency
and greater reliability for use in the exploration of the solar system
and its planets. First year funding, beginning in July 2003, is
approximately $2.5 million.
Teledyne Energy Systems’ two awards will pursue different paths to
achieve the same goal – a doubling of conventional thermoelectric
power generator efficiency. The first project will focus on segmenting
different thermoelectric materials and unique heat management
techniques to optimize the power generated from a given heat source.
The second project will focus on processing and material options to
produce a super-latticed thermoelectric material structure that will
take better advantage of the heat energy provided by the fuel.
“Teledyne has been at the forefront of thermoelectric materials
and power generator systems for more than 50 years, including
providing power for deep-space missions such as the Viking Mars
Landers and Pioneer missions to Jupiter and Mars,” said Robert
Mehrabian, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Teledyne
Technologies. “We are pleased to collaborate again with NASA under
these contracts to transition our advanced concepts from the
laboratory to practical use in future space missions.”
Thermoelectrics provide thermal energy to electric power
conversion in a solid-state process based on the interaction of
dissimilar metals in the presence of a thermal gradient. Since
thermoelectric generators typically have no moving parts, they exhibit
very high reliability and ruggedness. Teledyne Energy Systems’ most
well known generators powered the Pioneer deep space probes with an
operating history of more than 31 years and 7.6 billion miles.
Teledyne Energy Systems, Inc. (TESI) is a leading global provider
of on-site gas and power generation systems based on proprietary fuel
cell, electrolysis and thermoelectric technologies. In addition, TESI
provides products that support these technologies including fuel cell
testing, vehicle refueling systems and PEM fuel cell components. TESI
is recognized for product lines that are reliable, simple to install
and easy to use. More information about Teledyne Energy Systems may be
found at www.teledynees.com.
Teledyne Technologies is a leading provider of sophisticated
electronic components, instruments and communication products, systems
engineering solutions, aerospace engines and components and on-site
gas and power generation systems. Teledyne Technologies has operations
in the United States, the United Kingdom and Mexico. For more
information, visit Teledyne Technologies’ website at www.teledyne.com.
