A magnetocaloric cooling device that employs triangular-microchannel active regenerators

Solutions developed

Current magnetocaloric devices suffer from low practical efficiency. The project intends to address this by optimising microchannel structures in the materials, AMR housing dimensions and control logic. Researchers will use new models to draw up the optimal AMR design and layout, as well as transition temperatures to make a high-efficiency device. Such devices could lead to more efficient heat pumps, helping the EU to meet energy efficiency goals.

Main results

Traditional cooling and refrigeration rely on the use of fluorinated gases, which have a high global warming potential. The EU-funded MicroChMag project hopes to change this by building a high-efficiency magnetocaloric cooling device with aligned, triangular-microchannel, active magnetic regenerators (AMRs).