A solar hot water collector that makes electricity, too

The company today announced it raised $14 million in series C funding to commercialize a product that will draw electricity from solar hot water collectors. It will also make small chips able to convert heat from car exhaust pipes and industrial machines into electricity.

GMZ Energy, which was spun out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2008, has created an improved material for converting the energy in heat into electric power. The process works in reverse so an electric current will produce heat.

Thermoelectric materials have been used for years in a few applications, such as heated seats in cars and portable coolers. Now a number of companies are trying to make them less expensive and more efficient at the heat-to-electric power conversion.

GMZ Energy claims that its nano-engineered materials make their use viable for many other uses, such as turning waste heat into usable energy. "Thermoelectric materials have typically been used for niche heating and cooling applications, but we have developed a way to enhance the material's performance to enable more applications," CEO Aaron Bent said in a statement.

With the investment, GMZ Energy next year plans to make a device that can be fitted onto existing solar hot water collectors to make electricity. It will increase the solar panels' value at "minimal cost," according to the company.

The company has collected an impressive group of investors for this round, following an industry trend of green technology startups partnering with large industrial concerns.

The investment was led by the venture capital arm of Japanese conglomerate Mitsui, which has invested in other energy-related companies. GMZ Energy is also now backed by Energy Technology Ventures, a joint venture created by General Electric, utility NRG Energy, and ConocoPhillips. Earlier investors Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and BP Alternative Energy also participated in this round.

There are other approaches for producing hot water and electricity from solar panels, including solar electric panels fitted with hot water tubes underneath them. GMZ Energy's approach is aimed at drawing usable electricity from solar hot water collectors to make them more valuable

Authored by Martin LaMonica
Originally posted on December 21, 2011 6:25 AM PST at CNET News