CONFERENCES - Laboratory for refrigeration and district energy

High-temperature electrocaloric heat pump presented at the High-temperature heat pump symposium

admin — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 09:56:23 +0000

Researchers from the Laboratory for Refrigeration and District Energy (LAHDE) have visited High-temperature heat pump symposium in Copenhagen, Danmark. The event offered an excellent overview of the latest research and industrial developments in high-temperature heat pumps, with many insightful discussions and opportunities to exchange perspectives with experts from industry and academia.

We were pleased to present our work on solid-state electrocaloric heat pump in the poster session and to receive valuable feedback that will support our ongoing research. Many thanks to the organizers for a well-structured and high-quality symposium, and to all colleagues for the engaging discussions.

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Delft days on magnetocaloric 2025

admin — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 14:30:08 +0000

On November 20 and 21, the 6th DDMC Conference took place in Delft, Netherlands, organized by the Technical University of Delft.

During the conference, our student Kamyar Dobakhti presented his poster on the Numerical simulation of a high-frequency regenerative thermomagnetic generator, which attracted significant interest from attendees.

Additionally, Professor Dr. Andrej Kitanovski delivered an invited talk titled Magnetocaloric Cooling and Heat Pump Technologies: Competitive Outlook, which was highly regarded.

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We visited European Cryogenics Days (ECD) 2025 and Cryogenics Workshop (CHMT) 2025

admin — Fri, 31 Oct 2025 07:12:30 +0000

Set on the green campus of the University of Twente, the European Cryogenics Days (ECD) 2025 and Cryogenics Workshop (CHMT) 2025 brought together leading experts from academia and industry to explore the latest advancements in cryogenics. The event took place from October 27 to 30, 2025. The event was hosted by Cryogenics Society of Europe and HEPTech.

We were proud to take part and present our work.
Darja Gačnik delivered a talk titled “Modeling internal temperature profiles in LN₂-cooled cryogenic terminals with temperature-dependent axial conduction and convection coupling.”
Katja Vozel presented a poster titled “Enhancing cryogenic thermal diode performance via temperature-dependent contact resistance.”

This conference offered a fantastic opportunity to deepen our knowledge in cryogenics, share our research with the community, gain fresh ideas, and build new connections and collaborations. We returned inspired and excited to continue contributing to advancing the low-temperature thermal management in the future!

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SDEWES Conference 2025 Dubrovnik, Croatia

admin — Fri, 10 Oct 2025 13:56:23 +0000

The 20th Conference on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES) in Dubrovnik hosted 685 on-site and 115 online participants from 68 countries presented 839 papers, showcasing an impressive range of recent research on sustainable energy, water, and environmental systems.

Our team had the pleasure of presenting on the final day (when many were already running low on energy), yet we were happy to still see engaged researchers in the audience.

Assist. Prof. Katja Klinar presented part of the modeling activities related to the pandaprosumer tool. The title of presentation was: pandaprosumer: Modeling the integration of booster heat pumps and combined heat & power systems into a district heating network.

This work presented was done within the SENERGY NETS project, funded by the European Union 🇪🇺.

A big thank-you to the organizers for such a well-run and inspiring event, and to everyone contributing to the dialogue on a more sustainable energy future!

More information: https://www.dubrovnik2025.sdewes.org/index

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FisMat 2025, Venice

admin — Thu, 10 Jul 2025 12:24:59 +0000

At this year’s FisMat conference, held in Venice, Italy, a special workshop on cooling of electronics and sensors took place. As part of the workshop, Katja Klinar gave an invited talk titled “Active and Passive Cooling Methods for Electronics and Sensors.”

The workshop provided an excellent opportunity for an in-depth look at the latest research and innovative solutions in one of the key areas of modern electronics. The high quality of the presentations, the diversity of approaches, and the engaging discussions clearly demonstrated how important and timely this field is.

Sincere thanks to the organizers for a carefully planned and content-rich workshop. It’s always encouraging to see a community so committed to progress—both in scientific understanding and practical application.

More info: https://eventi.cnism.it/fismat2025

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Conference SZE 2025, Portorož

admin — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 14:05:10 +0000

Between 8th and 10th of June international conference SZE 2025 took place in Portorož. Main topics of this year’s meeting were regional transformations of energy systems. Talks focused on energy and economical efficiency, digitalization of energy systems, renewable energy sources, heating and cooling technologies, district energy systems, heat pumps etc.

LAHDE team presented the following topics:

Andrej Kitanovski: 50% / 50% / 50%: UNTAPPED POTENTIALS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR HEATING AND COOLING
Nada Petelin: ENHANCING THE PERFORMANCE OF HOUSEHOLD REFRIGERATORS WITH PHASE CHANGE MATERIALS
Izak Oberčkal Pluško: MODELING HEAT PUMPS WITH THERMAL STORAGE IN DISTRICT HEATING SYSTEMS

Besides members of LAHDE, Marko Keber from University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering also presented his topic:

Marko Keber: MODELING OF DISTRICT ENERGY NETWORKS WITH MINIMAL DATA

Conference was an excellent opportunity for exchanging ideas, listening to exceptional speakers and connecting with with researchers and industry experts.

More informations on conference can be found here: https://www.sze.si/en/about-the-conferences-2025/

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SENERGY NETS project presented at the SZE conference in Portorož

admin — Wed, 25 Jun 2025 07:56:34 +0000

From June 8–10, part of research within the SENERGY NETS project was presented at the #SZE conference in sunny Portorož. The focus of the conference was the regional transformation of energy systems.

The presentation, titled “Modeling Heat Pumps with Thermal Storage in District Heating Systems,” was delivered by Izak Oberčkal Pluško from the University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering.

Key topics presented included:

Introduction to the SENERGY-NETS project
Overview of the panda tools ecosystem
The newly developed pandaprosumer library for modeling flexible prosumers
A case study of a Booster Heat Pump (BHP) unit and its role in revitalizing an existing district heating system

The conference covered a wide range of relevant topics such as:

Energy and economic efficiency
Digitalization in energy systems
Renewable energy sources
Heating and cooling technologies
District heating systems
Heat pump integration and more

The contribution by Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Ljubljana offered valuable insights into the digitalization and modernization of district heating through open-source tools and applied modeling.

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The Advances in Magnetics 2025, Bressanone/Brixen

admin — Thu, 13 Feb 2025 09:50:41 +0000

The Advances in Magnetics AIM 2025 conference in Brixen/Bressanone in Italy was a fantastic opportunity to dive into cutting-edge research, exchange ideas with brilliant minds, and connect with experts from around the world.

The discussions were insightful, the presentations inspiring, and the networking invaluable. A big thank you to the organizers and everyone who made this event such a success!

The LAHDE team delivered the following presentations:

Katja Klinar: From electromagnet to electro-permanent magnet for magnetocaloric heat pumps
Oumayma CHDIL: Advancing Magnetic Refrigeration with Artificial Intelligence
Urban Tomc: Cool BatMan project: Digital Microfluidic Magnetocaloric Cooling
Nada Petelin: Oscillating Gadolinium Thermal Switch for Efficient Heat Flow Management
Darja Gačnik: Magneto-Thermoelectrics in Cryogenic, Room, and High-Temperature Regimes: Material and Device Innovations
Radel Gimaev: Materials for the thermomagnetic energy harvesting technology devices

More details are available here: https://www.aim2025.it/

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11th IIR Conference

admin — Wed, 25 Sep 2024 10:42:27 +0000

Pleased to share that our team attended 11th IIR Conference on Compressors and Refrigerants in Bratislava, Slovakia, from the 9th to the 11th of September. Our researcher Mihael Blatnik presented an exciting paper titled State of the Art of Miniature Compressors.

The event was an excellent platform not only for exchanging knowledge but also gaining valuable insights into the latest trends and innovations in our field. It also facilitated productive discussions with experts from around the world, opening doors for potential collaborations and future projects. The energy and enthusiasm of the attendees made the experience even more rewarding.

Thank you to all the participants and organizers for such a productive and inspiring experience!

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Calorics 2024, Cambridge

admin — Wed, 25 Sep 2024 10:25:17 +0000

The Calorics 2024 conference took place in the historic city of Cambridge (UK), at the Møller Institute in Churchill College. This event brought together leading experts, researchers, and industry professionals to exchange ideas and insights on the latest advancements in caloric materials and heat-pump technologies.

The presentations highlighted the recent development in magnetocaloric, electrocaloric, elastocaloric, and barocaloric materials, as well as their potential integration in (multi)caloric devices such as heat pumps and active regenerators.

The LAHDE’s contribution to the conference was Prof. Andrej Kitanovski’s presentation: »Challenges, opportunities, and future roadmap for energy applications of magnetocaloric materials«.

One of the standout moments of the conference was the demonstration of a refrigerator utilizing the barocaloric effect to efficiently pump heat, presented by Xavier Moya. Its cooling power was impressive enough to chill beers to the perfect temperature, which were then served to attendees after the presentations. We cannot wait for the day when we can have solid-state refrigerators in our own homes.

Attending the Calorics 2024 conference was an exceptional experience, offering invaluable opportunities for learning and collaboration, encompassed by the engaging discussions with fellow attendees. The wide range of presentation topics provided deep insights into the latest caloric materials and technologies.

We are excited to attend and present our research at the upcoming Calorics conference. We can’t wait to see how the field will develop in the future.

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