The development of open porous foams from a variety of substances such as polymers, metals and ceramics has led to many interesting applications of the porous structures. The large open porosity and high surface area of foams from oxide thermoelectric materials could also bring about new thermoelectric module designs. Currently, thermoelectric modules with bulk elements are mostly designed to extract waste heat from solid bodies for power generation. However, the majority of waste heat is generated in gaseous or liquid media. Foam structures could be an efficient solution to extract the waste heat from the hot gases and liquids as compared to their bulk counterparts. We detail the manufacturing of foams from oxide thermoelectric materials. Open porous foams of different porosities of n type thermoelectric Ca0.95Sm0.05MnO3 material are fabricated as replicas of polyurethane foams. The foams are demonstrated as a thermoelectric generator in a simple module configuration with a butane flame torch as a heat source. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.