Shape Memory Alloy based elastocaloric Cooling system

Introduction

The project SMACool will develop a functional air-conditioning device for residential buildings, based on the emerging technology of elastocalorics, which uses (shape memory) alloys as solid-state refrigerants for efficient and sustainable cold (and heat) generation.

Technology Overview

Elastocalorics (also thermo-elastic or thermoelastics) is an innovative, disruptive heating and cooling technology with the potential of reaching outstanding energy efficiency and zero global warming potential. This technology uses metals as solid-state refrigerant material instead of the harmful fluids used in cooling systems today.

Project Consortium

The interdisciplinary project consortium consists of:

• Three European Universities from Germany, Italy, and Slovenia
• One emerging high-tech company from Ireland

Project Objectives

The project will cover several objectives, including:

1. Construction and validation of an application-specific elastocaloric cooling system device
2. Creation of a versatile validation environment for quantitative validation of future elastocaloric devices
3. Realization of a multi-physical numerical simulation platform for simulative assistance in elastocaloric device development
4. Development and characterization of elastocaloric-specific optimized materials
5. Development of an efficient electric drive unit suited for the specific needs of elastocaloric system devices

Expected Impact

The resulting SMACool system is targeting an efficiency increase by a factor of two to three compared to state-of-the-art HVAC (Heat, Ventilation, and Air-Conditioning) systems. This advancement will have a high impact on potentially cutting down global energy consumption in the residential building sector and also in other cold generation fields.