Waste Heat Recovery for Efficient and Climate-friendly Energy Supply
The advancing climate change and the energy transition are reshaping the perception of enrgy generation – both at VULKAN and among our customers. In collaboration with the German-French company Magnoric, VULKAN is advancing the field of magnetocaloric cooling and waste heat recovery. To focus on utilizing waste heat sources with a temperatures below 100°C, Magnoric has successfully developed a prototype that converts this waste heat into electrical energy.
The technology developed by Magnoric is based on the magnetic transition of a magnetic alloy near its Curie temperature under the influence of temperature fluctuations (The eponym of the so-called Curie temperature is the French physicist Pierre Curie. The Curie temperature is substance-specific. Above the Curie temperature, the magnetic properties of a material change). The material behaves para-magnetically above its Curie temperature and ferro-magnetically below it. This transition, induced by rapid temperature fluctuations in the material, is utilized by Magnoric to create a magnetic depending on the temperature. This imbalance drives the rotation of a magnetic rotor or the oscillation of a piston, which powers an electrical generator.
High Conversion Rates Even at Low Temperatures
"The conversion of waste heat below 100 °C is uncharted technological territory," says Gregor van Ackeren, CEO of Magnoric. “To date, waste heat has been used to a limited extent for heating residential and commercial spaces, but always at higher temperatures. According to the Magnoric CEO, 70 per cent of waste heat sources operate below 100 °C. Until now, no technology has been able to efficiently convert these energy sources into electricity.
"Our modeling and field trials show that magnetocaloric technology can achieve large conversion rates from low-temperature sources and minimal temperature differences. This paves the way for an efficient waste heat conversion system that not only generates green electricity but also provides revenue opportunities for our customers. Economic climate protection through innovation - made in Europe," summarizes Gregor van Ackeren.
Unlocking Untapped Energy Potential
Magnoric's state-of-the-art system has been developed to capture waste heat - often overlooked in industrial processes - and convert it into valuable electrical energy. In this way, companies can significantly improve their energy efficiency, reduce operating costs and contribute to a greener future.
Operation without Climate-Damaging Refrigerant Gases
Magnoric is a French-German technology startup specializing in magnetocaloric cooling and waste heat recovery. It develops and manufactures both, highly efficient and environmentally friendly cooling machines and devices for recovering electrical energy from low-temperature waste heat. The cooling systems developed by Magnoric, as well as the waste heat recovery systems, operate entirely without climate-damaging refrigerant gases and enable energy savings of up to 50 percent compared to conventional compressor technology.
Magnoric is today a market leader with patented innovations in this field. VULKAN is investing in Magnoric's innovative technology through its own management company Hackforth Holding GmbH & Co and holds a majority stake in the company based in Alsace, France.