A Hybrid Harvesting Method for Multiple Marine Renewable Energy Sources Based on Microthermoelectric Generator and Triboelectric Nanogenerator

Harvesting wind and solar energy in marine environments to power marine sensors has become a hot research topic. Herein, a marine hybrid energy gathering method based on codoped microthermoelectric generator (MTEG) and charge-enhanced triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) is proposed. A prototype based on this method is designed. It consists of an MTEG unit made from codoped Bi₂Te₃-based thermoelectric materials and a TENG unit equipped with a charge density enhancement circuit. This prototype can simultaneously harvest solar energy and wind energy in marine environments to power marine sensors. The prototype can generate a voltage output of 72 V and a power output of 90.5 μW under experimental conditions featuring a wind velocity of 5 m s⁻¹ and a temperature difference of 50 K. This results in a harvesting energy density of 9 W m⁻³. Based on experiments, the feasibility of the hybrid energy gathering method presented herein is verified, offering a new approach for powering marine sensors.