The soft, waxy “solid refrigerant” being investigated in a UK laboratory might not look very exciting, but its unusual properties promise an air-conditioning revolution that could eliminate the need for greenhouse gases.
The substance’s temperature can vary by more than 50°C under pressure, and unlike the gases currently used in appliances, it does not leak.
“They don’t contribute to global warming, but also they are potentially more energy efficient,” said Xavier Moya, a professor of materials physics at the University of Cambridge.
Photo: AFP
Approximately 2 billion air-conditioning units are in use worldwide and their number is increasing as the planet warms. Between leaks and energy consumption, the emissions associated with them are also increasing each year, according to the International Energy Agency.
Moya has been studying the properties of the plastic crystals in his laboratory at the prestigious UK university for 15 years.
On his work surface, a large red and gray machine, topped with a cylinder, tests how the temperature of a substance changes under pressure. The aim is to identify the best refrigerants among this class of materials, which are already used by the chemical industry and are relatively easy to obtain, even if the exact composition of the crystals eventually selected remains secret.
The phenomenon is invisible to the naked eye, but these crystals are composed of molecules that spin on their own axis. When the substance is squeezed, that movement stops and the energy is dissipated in the form of heat. When released, the substance cools its surroundings in what is known as the “barocaloric effect.”
“We’re expecting demand for air-conditioning to increase hugely, globally, between now and 2050,” said Cliff Elwell, a professor of building physics at University College London.
He believes barocaloric solids have the potential to be as efficient as gas, if not more so.
“But whatever we introduce as new technologies always has to hit the basic requirements,” which include being compact and quiet enough for use in homes and vehicles, he said.
Alongside his research at Cambridge, Moya founded the start-up Barocal in 2019 to turn his research group’s discoveries into tangible products. It employs nine people and has its own laboratory, which is currently a modest container in a parking lot, but the start-up is attracting interest and in recent years has raised about 4 million euros (US$4.5 million), notably from the European Innovation Council — an EU program involving the UK — and Breakthrough Energy, an umbrella group of initiatives founded by US billionaire Bill Gates to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
It plans to increase its workforce to 25 or 30 this year.
The first air-conditioner prototype is the size of a large suitcase and hums quite loudly when a hydraulic circuit increases or decreases the pressure inside the four crystal-filled cylinders, but it works.
A small refrigerator is attached to the system and the cans of soda inside are perfectly chilled.
The prototype has “not really been optimized yet for either mass, volume or even sound,” said Mohsen Elabbadi, a materials engineer at Barocal.
The performance of the units it is working to perfect would eventually be comparable with those running on gas, he said.
While the company is currently focusing on cooling, the technology could also be used to produce heat.
Several teams are studying the materials around the world, but the Cambridge team is a pioneer in the field, according to Breakthrough Energy, which estimates that these devices have the potential to reduce emissions by up to 75 percent compared with traditional units.
Barocal hopes to launch a first product on the market within three years, commercial director Florian Schabus said.
They would initially be cooling units for “large shopping centers, warehouses, schools,” and even “data centers,” he said.
The company reasons that the ultimate promise of cheaper bills would convince businesses to stump up the higher initial costs. Barocal is eventually aiming for retail prices similar to traditional units, allowing it to launch in the residential market.
MONEY GRAB: People were rushing to collect bills scattered on the ground after the plane transporting money crashed, which an official said hindered rescue efforts A cargo plane carrying money on Friday crashed near Bolivia’s capital, damaging about a dozen vehicles on highway, scattering bills on the ground and leaving at least 15 people dead and others injured, an official said. Bolivian Minister of Defense Marcelo Salinas said the Hercules C-130 plane was transporting newly printed Bolivian currency when it “landed and veered off the runway” at an airport in El Alto, a city adjacent to La Paz, before ending up in a nearby field. Firefighters managed to put out the flames that engulfed the aircraft. Fire chief Pavel Tovar said at least 15 people died, but
LIKE FATHER, LIKE DAUGHTER: By showing Ju-ae’s ability to handle a weapon, the photos ‘suggest she is indeed receiving training as a successor,’ an academic said North Korea on Saturday released a rare image of leader Kim Jong-un’s teenage daughter firing a rifle at a shooting range, adding to speculation that she is being groomed as his successor. Kim’s daughter, Ju-ae, has long been seen as the next in line to rule the secretive, nuclear-armed state, and took part in a string of recent high-profile outings, including last week’s military parade marking the closing stages of North Korea’s key party congress. Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) released a photo of Ju-ae shooting a rifle at an outdoor shooting range, peering through a rifle scope
India and Canada yesterday reached a string of agreements, including on critical mineral cooperation and a “landmark” uranium supply deal for nuclear power, the countries’ leaders said in New Delhi. The pacts, which also covered technology and promoting the use of renewable energy, were announced after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney hailed a fresh start in the relationship between their nations. “Our ties have seen a new energy, mutual trust and positivity,” Modi said. Carney’s visit is a key step forward in ties that effectively collapsed in 2023 after Ottawa accused New Delhi
Gaza is rapidly running out of its limited fuel supply and stocks of food staples might become tight, officials said, after Israel blocked the entry of fuel and goods into the war-shattered territory, citing fighting with Iran. The Israeli military closed all Gaza border crossings on Saturday after announcing airstrikes on Iran carried out jointly with the US. Israeli authorities late on Monday night said that they would reopen the Kerem Shalom crossing from Israel to Gaza yesterday, for “gradual entry of humanitarian aid” into the strip, without saying how much. Israeli authorities previously said the crossings could not be operated safely during
RSS