The Delft-based company Magneto, a spin-off from Delft University of Technology, is developing 3D-printed magneto-caloric material for heat pumps. With this material, heat pumps for cooling systems can be made that no longer run on gas, but on harmless liquids, such as water. In addition, the system is up to 30% more efficient. For their unique innovation, a co-investment is provided to Magneto by SHIFT Invest, fund managers of the Thematic Technology Transfer-Circular Technology program, that runs between the 4 technical universities (WUR, TU Delft, TU Eindhoven, Twente University and TNO. This program is supported by RVO.
Cooling systems, of refrigerators, currently still work mainly on gas compressors. These used to use Chlorofluorocarbons, known from the hole in the ozone layer and now phased out almost everywhere. Today, the gases are still very polluting. Magneto has developed a reliable solution to this growing problem in the refrigeration system market.
Unique recipe of magneto-caloric material
Magneto develops a special composite for heat pumps. This material changes temperature after exposure to a magnetic field, also called the magneto-caloric effect. Despite the fact that some natural substances also exhibit this property, Magneto’s composite does not use rare elements. This allows the material to be produced and applied on a large scale. Magneto is the first company in the world able to 3D print magneto-caloric material, an important step for its application.
Magneto system 30% more efficient
This special material can be used to create a heat pump, which no longer uses gases but liquids, such as water. These can replace gas compressors in cooling systems and in the future all kinds of devices that heat and cool. Besides the fact that these new systems no longer use polluting gases, the system is also up to 30% more efficient. This also leads to considerable savings in energy
consumption.
Refrigeration market expected to triple
200 million gas compressors are produced annually for the refrigeration market. In addition, there is an increasing global need for refrigeration and the market is expected to triple by 2050. Magneto will enable some of this growth in a sustainable way.
Investment enables development of first functional refrigeration systems
With this investment, Magneto will build a portfolio of magneto-caloric materials, enabling the production of the first functional cooling systems. The company now has 4 FTEs and is growing to 7.5 FTEs. To facilitate this growth, the company recently opened its office doors at YES!Delft.