[ThePythonicCow]

From the ENECO web site:

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THE SCIENCE

ENECO's technology is based on the use of thermal diodes, which have no moving parts and convert heat directly into electricity. The concept is drawn from two established direct energy conversion technologies, thermoelectric energy conversion and thermionic energy conversion.

• Thermoelectric energy conversion is based on Peltier and Seebeck effects, which appear when a thermal gradient is applied across a plate of material. Thermoelectric converters are convenient but inefficient. Thermoelectric activity varies greatly from one material to another, but typical commercial thermoelectric converters operate with efficiencies less than 6%.
• Thermionic energy conversion works in the manner shown schematically in Figure 1.

A thermionic converter consists of a heated plate, Metal 1, a cooled plate, Metal 2, a vacuum gap separating the plates, and an external electric circuit, which is open in the figure. 

[timer]

Right on, sounds just like a rehash of the peltier and seebeck effects. Isn't it funny how some people keep re-inventing the wheel. There MAY be something beyond this though : powerchips.gi This is a Josephson Junction chip of nano-thickness. Hot electrons tunnel through and cold electrons are held back, supposedly 70% efficient. It also works in cooling mode, 40% efficient. Borealis company is in intense negotiations to develop it, but it still hasn't made it out of the lab and into mass production yet. They are actually a metals-holding company based in Gibraltar and London, into many innovative things...