5. Environmental aspects

The use of polymer materials in the manufacture of thermoelectric generators makes it possible to respond to major environmental challenges, which can be divided into three main categories.

• Aspects relating to the depletion of natural energy resources (sources based on fossil fuels). The latest estimates predict an increase in global energy demand of around 45% by 2030, mainly due to two factors: i) population growth; ii) the ultra-fast industrialization of countries such as China and India, which alone have a population of over 2 billion. At this rate of use, the most optimistic estimates predict the complete exhaustion of fossil fuel reserves within 50 years