Hydrogen-driven thermoelectric trigeneration for sustainable homes: Electricity, water, and heat

Abstract

Hydrogen is widely regarded as a pivotal energy carrier for deep decarbonization, yet its residential deployment remains limited by the absence of integrated systems capable of fully exploiting its high-grade thermal output. In particular, the simultaneous and efficient generation of electricity, freshwater, and usable heat from hydrogen has remained an unmet challenge. Here, we report a hydrogen-powered thermoelectric trigeneration system that establishes a new paradigm for residential hydrogen utilization by concurrently delivering electrical power, freshwater production, and high-quality thermal energy within a single, compact platform. Distinct from conventional hydrogen energy systems that rely on electrochemical conversion or single-function heat recovery, this work introduces an integrated polygeneration strategy that synergistically couples pure hydrogen combustion, thermoelectric power generation, and water harvesting. A key innovation lies in the incorporation of impinging jet-enhanced heat transfer, which enables uniform temperature distribution and sustained thermal gradients across thermoelectric modules under hydrogen combustion conditions, overcoming a long-standing bottleneck in hydrogen-fueled thermoelectric systems. As a result, the system delivers a record electrical power output of 61.8 W with an overall thermoelectric efficiency of 3.10%, representing the highest performance reported to date for hydrogen-powered thermoelectric generation. Simultaneously, it harvests freshwater at a rate of 0.258 kg h−1 with a unit performance coefficient of 37.6 kg kWh−1, achieving the highest reported value while recovering 52.02% of the water vapor contained in the flue gas. In addition, the system provides high-grade heating with a thermal output of 1.56 kW, yielding an unprecedented combined heat-and-power efficiency of 94.6%. By integrating hydrogen combustion with thermoelectric energy conversion and efficient water recovery, this work sets new benchmarks for hydrogen-based polygeneration and offers a scalable and sustainable strategy for next-generation residential energy systems.