MAGNETOCALORICS - Laboratory for refrigeration and district energy

Cool BatMan featured as M-ERA.NET Success Story

admin — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 13:40:49 +0000

The Cool BatMan project has been recognized as a Success Story by M-ERA.NET.

The project aimed to build a fundamental understanding of the dynamic thermal behavior of a compact cooling concept. It combines magnetocaloric materials, exploiting the magnetocaloric effect, with electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWOD) digital microfluidics. The work included advanced microfabrication and new characterization approaches.

A key outcome is the demonstration that digital microfluidics, widely used in bioanalytical lab-on-a-chip systems, also has strong potential for thermal management at the mini- and microscale.

We thank our consortium partners: Jožef Stefan Institute, Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden, and the University of Barcelona. We also thank M-ERA.NET for the recognition.

Read the full success story here:
https://www.m-era.net/news/successtory_coolbatman

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A completed research secondment at the Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM)

admin — Tue, 13 Jan 2026 11:16:20 +0000

Our PhD student Kamyar Dobakhti recently completed a research secondment at the Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM). This secondment provided valuable hands-on experience in X-ray tomography and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodologies relevant to thermomagnetic heat exchanger development.

During his stay at BAM, Kamyar visited several X-ray tomography facilities and a mechanical testing setup, gaining in-depth insight into tomography procedures for structural characterization and defect analysis. Close collaboration with experts in the field enabled a detailed understanding of how these techniques can be applied to optimize manufacturing parameters and material design.

Furthermore, precise geometrical parameters extracted from the X-ray tomography data were directly incorporated into numerical simulations. The primary focus of the secondment was the development of a numerical model to evaluate the heat transfer characteristics of different heat exchanger geometries, supporting the optimization of thermomagnetic heat exchanger performance.

A heartfelt thank you to Dr.-Ing. Anja Waske, Heike Q. and Savvina Papaioannou from BAM for their warm welcome and support. I also want to express my gratitude to our group leaders, the Laboratory for Refrigeration and District Energy, and the entire team for providing me with this incredible opportunity.

The post A completed research secondment at the Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM) first appeared on Laboratory for refrigeration and district energy.

Emerging opportunities for high-temperature solid-state and gas-cycle heat pumps

admin — Sun, 21 Dec 2025 12:51:38 +0000

Researchers from the Laboratory for Refrigeration and District Energy (LAHDE), together with an international team, have published a study in Nature Energy (Springer Nature), the world’s leading scientific journal in the field of energy. The paper offers the first comprehensive assessment of an often-overlooked opportunity: alternative high-temperature heat-pump technologies that could replace inefficient fossil-fuel combustion and direct electric heating in industry and the energy sector. Doing so could significantly reduce energy use, greenhouse-gas emissions, and thermal pollution.

Heat lies at the core of the energy challenge. Around 50% of final energy consumption is used for heating and cooling, and roughly 50% of final energy is ultimately released as waste heat—heat that is frequently discharged into the environment via cooling towers, the warming of rivers or seawater, and other outlets. The study shows that high-temperature heat pumps can capture this waste heat and upgrade it efficiently to much higher temperature levels, suitable for demanding industrial processes.

Today’s commercial high-temperature heat pumps are typically limited to about 250 °C, whereas many industrial processes require higher temperatures—up to, or even beyond, 1000 °C. The newly published research therefore systematically presents and compares alternative approaches that could enable a step change: caloric, thermoelectric and thermoacoustic technologies, as well as mechanical processes based on Stirling and Brayton cycles.

Link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-025-01908-4

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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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Heat4Energy School “Simulations, data mining and artificial intelligence”

admin — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 14:20:29 +0000

From November 17th to 19th, the school “Simulations, data mining and artificial intelligence” took place in Delft, Netherlands, for PhD students participating in the HEAT4ENERGY project. The event was hosted by partners at the Technical University of Delft (TUD).

Over the course of this intensive two-day program, students attended lectures on:

Basics of phase field simulations
Modeling of active magnetocaloric regenerators for heat pump applications
Developing multiphysics software using finite elements
First-principles theory of magnetic materials
AI in computational Molecules and Materials research

In the practical sessions, participants engaged in hands-on exercises in finite elements, and the first-principles theory method.

In addition, students received insightful presentations on Science Communication and Commercializing magnetocaloric materials by Magneto. The program also included visits to Magneto and the Yes!Delft startup incubator.

Overall, the workshop was highly productive and sparked strong interest and engagement among all participants.

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MAGCCINE – 1st annual meeting in Grenoble

admin — Thu, 23 Oct 2025 13:19:37 +0000

The first annual meeting of the MAGCCINE consortium took place on 17 October 2025 in Grenoble. The event was hosted by the Institut Néel (CNRS), which, together with MagREEsource, provided excellent organization and a warm welcome to all participants.

The meeting offered an exceptional opportunity for project partners to present the achievements of the first year of collaboration, exchange ideas, and outline the next steps in the development of a vaccine cooler prototype based on the rotating magnetocaloric effect. At the heart of the event was collaboration: exchanging ideas, reviewing progress, and planning future activities between academic and industrial partners. The discussions were enriched by in-depth scientific exchanges on cooling, magnetism, and related innovations.

The meeting was further enhanced by contributions from Advisory Board members, including representatives of the International Institute of Refrigeration (IIR) and Tecnea – Cemafroid, who provided valuable insights into key issues related to innovation and standardisation in the field of cooling technologies.

The programme also included a visit to MagREEsource, a company specialising in sustainable development and the recycling of used magnets. Their production capacities, scientific approach to designing the entire recycling value chain, and their clear sustainability vision left a strong impression on all participants.

The first annual MAGCCINE consortium meeting inspired everyone involved and strengthened the shared sense of responsibility for further developing technologies with the potential to significantly contribute to more sustainable solutions for global cold chains.

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AI-Driven Monte Carlo Uncertainty Analysis of Curie Temperature Effects on Active Magnetic Regenerator Performance

admin — Mon, 06 Oct 2025 08:51:19 +0000

In the paper AI-Driven Monte Carlo Uncertainty Analysis of Curie Temperature Effects on Active Magnetic Regenerator Performance, published in the International Journal of Refrigeration (IF = 3.8), researchers from the Laboratory for Refrigeration and District Energy revisited the methodology for analyzing the impact of statistical variations in Curie temperature on the performance of multilayer magnetocaloric regenerators, as previously established in a recent publication [link].

The study was conducted in collaboration with colleagues from the Federal University of Santa Catarina (Brazil), this time using their numerical model of a multilayer active magnetic regenerator (AMR) combined with machine learning. Instead of second-order materials, the study focused on first-order LaFeSiH magnetocaloric materials, which are even more sensitive to Curie temperature distributions.

Once again, the study revealed that Curie temperature deviations above 1 K drastically reduce the probability of achieving the target cooling power. Given current margins provided by MCM suppliers (standard deviations between 1.5 and 2 K) and a typical AMR layer count (10 to 15), the cooling power would need to be oversized by 30% to 80% to ensure a 90–95% probability of meeting performance targets. In practice, this would require oversized magnets and regenerators, significantly increasing production costs.

Thus, large-scale production of magnetic refrigeration devices with current LaFeSiH materials is unfeasible, as quality assurance standards would require much tighter control over Curie temperature uncertainty than currently offered by manufacturers. For a successful market deployment of magnetocaloric technology, MCM manufacturers will need to prioritize reducing Curie temperature variability in their materials.

Figure: a) Schematic representation of a multilayer AMR and the Curie temperature deviation. Solid lines represent the original curves and dashed lines represent the ones achieved by the manufacturing process, b) Effect of the uncertainty of the Curie Temperature on the performance of the 10 layer AMR, c) Cumulative Distribution Function for the 10 layer AMR, d) Effect of the certainty level on the achieved performance of the 10 layer AMR.

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Influence of Layering and Curie Temperature Uncertainty on the Performance of Magnetocaloric Regenerators

admin — Fri, 19 Sep 2025 14:42:37 +0000

In the paper Influence of Layering and Curie Temperature Uncertainty on the Performance of Magnetocaloric Regenerators, published in Advanced Functional Materials (IF = 19.0), researchers from the Laboratory for Refrigeration and District Energy (Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Ljubljana) investigate how statistical variations in Curie temperature affect the performance of multilayer active magnetic regenerators (AMRs). We conducted the research in collaboration with colleagues from the University of Santa Catarina (Brazil) and the Technical University of Denmark.

Magnetic refrigeration is a promising alternative to vapor-compression cooling, offering better energy efficiency and lower environmental impact. However, the narrow operational temperature window of magnetocaloric materials (MCMs) and the use of rare-earth elements are major limitations. Layering several MCMs with different Curie temperatures can help span broader temperature ranges—but introduces sensitivity to material variability.

Using a 1D numerical model and radial basis function neural networks, the team analyzed how Curie temperature uncertainties affect the cooling power of multilayer AMRs made from La-Fe-Co-Si alloys. Results reveal that while more layers improve peak performance, they also increase sensitivity to manufacturing inconsistencies. Even standard deviations above 1 K can significantly reduce the probability of reaching desired cooling targets.

This work underscores the need for precise control over MCM properties and contributes essential insights into designing robust and commercially viable magnetocaloric systems.

Figure: Probability of all the Curie temperatures being distributed such that the normalized cooling power would be equal to or greater than 0.9 relative to the standard deviation and at three different temperature spans for different numbers of MCM layers.

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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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World Refrigeration Day

admin — Thu, 26 Jun 2025 06:19:08 +0000

World Refrigeration Day, celebrated on June 26, was established to raise awareness about the critical role refrigeration, air conditioning, and heat pumps play in modern life. It honors the birth of Lord Kelvin (William Thomson), a key figure in thermodynamics. The day highlights the industry’s contributions to health, food safety, energy efficiency, and environmental protection. Institutions and organizations around the world celebrate it with educational campaigns, public events, webinars, and technical seminars, aiming to inspire innovation and promote sustainable practices in cooling technologies.