HORATES

Development of hybrid and organic thermoelectric materials to convert unused waste heat into electricity.

The HORATES project is an Innovative Training Network (ITN), one of the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), aimed at training a new generation of early-stage researchers able to face current and future challenges. The project has the objective to fuse the synthetic organic expertise and knowledge with the expertise in processing and characterisation to provide stable, high-performance materials and recipes for upscaling and device fabrication.

In the framework of HORATES project, 15 young scientists and researchers will receive training in the interdisciplinary field of organic thermoelectrics and will be able to conduct their PhD projects working on this topic. The doctoral candidates will work through the full chain of organic thermoelectrics, from molecular design and chemical synthesis to the development of large-scale printed devices, including theoretical modelling.

The Functional Printing & Embedded Devices Unit of Eurecat participates in the project as a host of one Early Stage Researcher (ESR). During the project, the doctoral student will investigate the design, fabrication and validation of a printed electronics control unit integrated with novel organic thermoelectric devices. The researcher will also explore material compatibility and electrical specifications of an ultra-low power consumption electronic, specially designed to operate with energy harvester devices. The final prototype will be an autonomous system capable of feeding and processing data from different sensors. On the other hand, the ERS will collaborate closely with other groups in the HORATES consortium, and also has the mission of disseminating its scientific and technological achievements to a broad audience.

The consortium of the project, coordinated by Heidelberg University, counts with the participation of 8 academic institutions and 5 companies from 6 European countries.