Diamond energy converter

Dr Neil Fox from Bristol University has been awarded €980,000 (£881,000) by the energy company E.ON to develop a system that exploits solar energy to produce electricity.

It will do so using devices called thermionic energy converters (TECs), which consist of a hot electrode that thermionically emits electrons over a potential energy barrier to a cooler electrode, producing a useful electric power output.

Dr Fox is developing special electrodes for the converters using nanoparticles of industrial diamond powder, which is low cost and readily available.

TECs are commonly used in space vehicles, but Fox's new electrodes are designed to lower operating temperatures while maintaining a potential energy-conversion efficiency of more than 40 per cent.

The project, known as the Lithiated Nanoparticle Diamond Energy Converter, should enable a TEC to operate satisfactorily on solar power, leading to a renewable-powered generation device that has no moving parts or fluids, is free of maintenance and is able to deliver reliable electricity production over a long period.