Keep cool: Researchers develop magnetic cooling cycle

As a result of climate change, population growth, and rising expectations regarding quality of life, energy requirements for cooling processes are growing much faster worldwide than for heating. Another problem that besets today's refrigeration systems is that most coolants cause environmental and health damage. A novel technology could provide a solution: refrigeration using magnetic materials in magnetic fields. Researchers at the Technische Universität (TU) Darmstadt and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) have developed the idea of a cooling cycle based on the 'magnetic memory' of special alloys. Relevant initial experimental results have now been published in the journal Nature Materials. The project is funded by the European Research Council (ERC).