Researchers at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) have developed a soft, flexible material that can turn body heat into electricity.
This new technology could help power future wearable devices, such as health monitors and smart clothing, without relying heavily on traditional batteries.
The study, published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition, shows that the specially designed gel can capture heat that would normally be wasted and convert it into usable electrical energy.
The material is a type of hydrogel, which means it is soft, stretchable, and contains water, making it comfortable and suitable for use on the human body.
Professor Zhi-Gang Chen, who led the research, explained that the gel takes advantage of the natural heat produced by the human body.
Instead of letting that heat dissipate into the environment, the material captures it and turns it into power.
In laboratory tests, a small device made from the gel, measuring just 10 millimeters by 10 millimeters, was able to generate around 0.46 volts of electricity.
While this may seem small, it demonstrates strong potential for practical use, especially when multiple devices are combined or improved in future designs.
The key to this innovation lies in how the gel controls the movement of charged particles, also known as ions, within its structure. When there is a temperature difference—such as the difference between body heat and the surrounding air—these ions move in a way that generates an electric current.
Traditional thermoelectric materials, which also convert heat into electricity, are usually rigid, expensive, and difficult to produce at scale. In contrast, the new hydrogel is soft, low-cost, and easier to manufacture in larger quantities. It also works efficiently at room temperature, which makes it particularly suitable for wearable technology.
This breakthrough could lead to a wide range of applications. In the future, wearable devices like fitness trackers or medical sensors could be powered simply by the heat of the wearer’s body, reducing or even eliminating the need for batteries. It could also be used in smart fabrics, allowing clothing to generate energy while being worn.
Beyond wearables, the technology could also help recover wasted heat in other settings, such as industrial processes or everyday environments, contributing to more sustainable energy use.
The research team believes this development is part of a broader effort to address the large amount of energy lost as waste heat around the world. By finding ways to capture and reuse this energy, technologies like this gel could play an important role in reducing energy waste and supporting cleaner, more efficient systems.
As Professor Chen noted, innovations like this could change how we think about energy in daily life, turning something as simple as body heat into a valuable power source for the devices we use every day.
Source: Queensland University of Technology.
