Exploring Alternate Solar Possibilities

This article reports on a new invention -- the Johnson Thermoelectric Energy Conversion System or JTECS -- that the inventor claims will convert solar energy to electric at 60% efficiency. It's an unusual system that works with heat differentials and a type of hydrogen cell to produce the electricity. It works as a closed system with no waste, input or output of any kind, other than the heat produced by the sun. The article also says this system, which is supported by funding from the National Science Foundation, could potentially be used to produce electricity from waste heat produced by internal combustion engines, and perhaps any other source.