WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Purdue researchers are working to reduce vehicles' fuel consumption through a collaboration with General Motors that aims to turn heat from an engine's exhaust to electricity. A Purdue team is working with GM to develop a prototype that uses thermoelectric generators, or TEGs. The generators produce an electric current to charge batteries and power a car's electrical systems.
The work is being funded through a $1.4 million grant from the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy.
Purdue officials say the project will begin Jan. 1 and involve installing the prototype in the exhaust system behind the catalytic converter.