A paradigm shift for the future's thermal management devices through radical innovation in new materials and additive manufacturing

Introduction

Thermal management is in strong need of new material innovation. Stunningly, large data centres spend up to 40% of their total energy consumption to run the cooling system. Other examples include the cooling of electronics and the thermal control of electric vehicle batteries.

Challenges in Current Solutions

The development of innovative solutions is hindered by unsolved problems in heat removal and transport. While the design aspect of thermal control devices has achieved significant advancements, it is already under pressure.

Need for New Materials

New flexible materials that can be processed with Additive Manufacturing (AM) and exhibit thermal performances not yet seen are now strongly required. In ThermoDust, we aim to achieve a real breakthrough in this direction.

Project Objectives

We are set to combine nanotechnology and process engineering with scalable industrial AM specifically to solve the thermal control problem. This is not an incremental step, as it has not been done before.

Starting Material

Our starting ground is micron-sized metallic powder, typically used in Powder Bed Fusion or Cold Spray processes.

Innovative Techniques

We will explore the addition of a performing 2D-material phase to the feedstock powder using innovative techniques, with the final aim of engineering a radically new material (ThermoDust) with outstanding heat-transport performance.

Demonstrator Devices

We will also prove that it is possible to use AM to process ThermoDust in order to form demonstrator devices that will outperform current means of heat dissipation.

Key Sectors

We intend to demonstrate this in three key sectors:

1. Electronics
2. Electric vehicles (EV)
3. Aerospace

We will develop specific proofs of concept for each sector.

Methodology and Goals

We are confident in our ability to achieve the overall objectives through a sophisticated multi-disciplinary methodology that will rely on scientific investigations and the exploitation of discoveries. Our goal is to establish Europe as a leader in heat management, paving the way for innumerable new innovative products and markets in ICT, aerospace, electric vehicles, and related areas.