Recent advances in thermoelectric technology to harvest energy from the pavement

Reducing the excessive use of fossil fuels and developing new sustainable energy sources are challenges and urgent issues people face today. Pavements are rich in thermal energy when exposed to the sun for long periods of time. Thermoelectric technology allows for the conversion of thermal and electrical energy from the temperature difference that exists between the pavement and the underground. Thermoelectric technology applied to pavements could not only harvest energy to power wireless sensors, LED lights or store it in supercapacitors, but also absorb the temperature of the pavement to reduce damage to the pavement. The review summarized previous pavement thermoelectric energy harvesting systems in the areas of the types, advantages and disadvantages, power generation, and economic benefits. Methods to improve the conversion efficiency of thermoelectric energy harvesting devices are discussed in detail, especially the optimization of the cold end, the external environment, and the structure. Starting from the properties of thermoelectric cementitious composites, the applications and future developments of thermoelectric cementitious composites are presented in more detail. The thermoelectric cementitious composites are grouped into thermoelectric pavement energy harvesting solid systems. Finally, the integrated use of thermoelectric generator and thermoelectric cementitious composites for road energy harvesting is proposed. The article provided directions and references for future research on thermoelectric technology in pavement energy harvesting.