Project description DEENESFRITPL New material for cooler data centres There’s nothing cool about cooling data centre IT equipment; it can take up to 40 % of a typical office building’s total energy consumption. Heat removal and transport are the main challenges. The EU-funded ThermoDust project will solve the thermal control problem. Its solution lies in new flexible materials that can be processed with additive manufacturing which display unprecedented thermal performances. Taking micron-sized metallic powder (typically used in powder bed fusion or cold spray processes) as its starting point, the project will explore the addition of a performing 2D-material phase to the feedstock powder. The ultimate aim is to engineer a radically new material with outstanding heat-transport performance. Show the project objective Hide the project objective Objective Thermal management is in the strong need for new material’s innovation. Stunningly, large data centres spend up to 40% of the total energy consumption to run the cooling system. Other examples are in the cooling of electronics and in the thermal control of electric vehicles batteries. Here, the development of innovative solutions is hindered by heat removal and transport unsolved problems; the design aspect of thermal control devices has achieved so much but is already under pressure. New flexible materials, that can be processed with Additive Manufacturing (AM) and with thermal performances not yet seen, are now strongly required. In ThermoDust we will achieve a real breakthrough in this direction; we are set to join nanotechnology, process engineering with scalable industrial AM for the specific purpose of solving the thermal control problem; this is not an incremental step as it has not been done before. Our starting ground is micron-sized metallic powder, typically used in Powder Bed Fusion or Cold Spray processes. We will explore the addition of a performing 2D-material phase to the feedstock powder by using innovative techniques, with the final aim of engineering a radically new material (ThermoDust) with outstanding heat-transport performance. We will also prove it will be possible to use AM to process ThermoDust in order to form demonstrator devices that will outperform the current means of heat dissipation. And we intend to prove this in 3 key sectors: electronics, EV vehicles and aerospace with the development of specific proofs of concept. We are confident to be able to achieve the overall objectives through a sophisticated multi-disciplinary methodology that will rely upon scientific investigations, and the exploitation of discoveries to establish Europe as a leader in heat management, paving the way for innumerable new innovative products and markets in ICT, aerospace, electric vehicles and related areas. Fields of science social sciencessocial geographytransportelectric vehiclesengineering and technologymechanical engineeringthermodynamic engineeringengineering and technologynanotechnologyengineering and technologymechanical engineeringmanufacturing engineeringadditive manufacturing Keywords Powder Bed Fusion Cold Spray Selective Laser Melting Thermal Management Design Powders Engineering Programme(s) HORIZON.3.1 - The European Innovation Council (EIC) Main Programme HORIZON.3.1.1 - The Pathfinder for Advanced Research Topic(s) HORIZON-EIC-2021-PATHFINDEROPEN-01-01 - EIC Pathfinder Open 2021 Call for proposal HORIZON-EIC-2021-PATHFINDEROPEN-01 See other projects for this call Funding Scheme HORIZON-EIC - HORIZON EIC Grants Coordinator THE PROVOST, FELLOWS, FOUNDATION SCHOLARS & THE OTHER MEMBERS OF BOARD, OF THE COLLEGE OF THE HOLY & UNDIVIDED TRINITY OF QUEEN ELIZABETH NEAR DUBLIN Net EU contribution € 788 043,50 Address COLLEGE GREEN TRINITY COLLEGE D02 CX56 DUBLIN 2 Ireland See on map Region Ireland Eastern and Midland Dublin Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 788 043,50 Participants (4) Sort alphabetically Sort by Net EU contribution Expand all Collapse all POLITECNICO DI MILANO Italy Net EU contribution € 631 250,00 Address PIAZZA LEONARDO DA VINCI 32 20133 Milano See on map Region Nord-Ovest Lombardia Milano Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 631 250,00 UNIVERSITAT DE BARCELONA Spain Net EU contribution € 656 796,00 Address GRAN VIA DE LES CORTS CATALANES 585 08007 Barcelona See on map Region Este Cataluña Barcelona Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 656 796,00 UNIVERSITEIT TWENTE Netherlands Net EU contribution € 699 925,00 Address DRIENERLOLAAN 5 7522 NB Enschede See on map Region Oost-Nederland Overijssel Twente Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 699 925,00 INSTITUT JOZEF STEFAN Slovenia Net EU contribution € 499 971,25 Address Jamova 39 1000 Ljubljana See on map Region Slovenija Zahodna Slovenija Osrednjeslovenska Activity type Research Organisations Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 499 971,25