A research team has dramatically enhanced the efficiency of converting heat into electricity. The key lies in controlling tiny defects known as oxygen vacancies.

Their findings were published as a front cover article in the journal Advanced Science. The team was led by Professor Hyungyu Jin and Dr. Min Young Kim from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at POSTECH, in collaboration with Professors Donghwa Lee and Si-Young Choi from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and Professor Joseph P. Heremans from the Ohio State University.

Each day, enormous amounts of heat are lost around us: hot steam from factory chimneys, heat from car engines, and even the warmth generated by smartphones and computers. This waste heat is typically left unused, but if it could be converted back into electricity, it would offer a powerful solution to both energy inefficiency and environmental challenges.