The European Commission (HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-DN) has funded (€2.6m) a research project aimed at discovering and exploiting new caloric materials for refrigeration technologies The project “Molecule-based magneto / electro / mechano-calorics” (MolCal) will be run by a multi-national team of academic research groups and industrial partners across Europe and the US. The UK team is led by Professor Euan Brechin and Dr Claire Hobday in the School of Chemistry, and Dr David Oliver at Sunamp. Temperature control systems are responsible for approximately half of the EU energy consumption expenditure, and the overarching scientific goal of MolCal is the preparation of new, environmentally friendly, molecule-based materials with outstanding potential as caloric materials for refrigeration and heat pump applications at near-ambient and very-low temperature, and their exploitation in prototype devices. I look forward to working with our research partners to design next generation magnetocaloric materials, securing an alternative to cryogenic refrigeration based on helium technology. Professor Euan Brechin Now, more than ever, it's imperative that we transition away from greenhouse gas-emitting vapor-compression refrigerants. The collaborative efforts of the MolCal project will accelerate this transition and advance the potential of solid-state cooling. Dr Claire Hobday We’re delighted to be extending our award-winning partnership with the School of Chemistry with the MolCal project, and are looking forward to working with our European colleagues. These emerging solid-state caloric materials have really exciting potential for heating and cooling devices. Dr David Oliver This article was published on 2024-03-12
