Toward efficient and environmentally-friendly cooling using active electrocaloric regeneration

Cooling accounts for 17 % of total global electricity consumption. Vapor compression cooling dominated the markets, which

uses refrigerants that can leak to the environment and exhibits low efficiency. By contrast, cooling based on an electric-field

driven change in temperature of certain materials, i.e. the electrocaloric (EC) effect, promises an environmentally-friendly

technology with high efficiency. However, three key obstacles have prevented EC cooling from becoming commercially

relevant: small temperature span, low fatigue life, and high applied voltage.

This project has an ambitious goal of gaining insight into a regenerative EC cooler, which will enable the design and

fabrication of the first regenerative EC device exhibiting a large temperature span with long fatigue life. Performance targets

include a temperature span of 20 K, a fatigue life of 10000 cycles, and a low applied voltage. The research is organized into

three work packages: (1) advanced material characterization, (2) high-fidelity system modelling, and (3) demonstration of a

high-performance demonstrator. To achieve this challenging goal, a strong collaboration will take place between three

leading institutions, i.e. the Technical University of Denmark, the University of Cambridge, and the University of Barcelona.

The applicant is currently at forefront of international advances in developing regenerative cooling technologies, with

internationally recognized awards, 24 peer-reviewed publications, and 11 innovation patents.

The project will demonstrate a new concept of a robust, high performance electrocaloric cooler, which is expected to

transform the current cooling technology to the new one that is environmentally friendly and efficient. A timely award of the

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship will provide the applicant the necessary resources and access to expertise to make

rapid progress in this emerging research area and become an independent researcher, ready to compete globally.