Project description
Elastocaloric technology for sustainable and efficient air conditioning
Current air conditioning systems are often energy-inefficient and rely on harmful refrigerants that contribute to global warming. The EIC-funded SMACool project aims to develop a functional air-conditioning device for residential buildings using elastocaloric technology. This refers to a cooling method that uses shape memory alloys as solid-state refrigerants to generate temperature changes through mechanical stress. It promises exceptional energy efficiency and zero global warming potential. SMACool is a collaboration among three European universities from Germany, Italy and Slovenia and a high-tech company from Ireland. The initiative targets to improve energy efficiency by a factor of two or three over current heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, potentially transforming energy consumption patterns in residential buildings and other applications.
Objective
The project SMACool will develop a functional air-conditioning device for residential buildings, based on the emerging technology of elastocalorics, which uses (shape memory) alloys as solid-state refrigerants for efficient and sustainable cold (and heat) generation. Elastocalorics (also thermo-elastic or thermoelastics) is an innovative, disruptive heating and cooling technology with the potential of reaching outstanding energy efficiency and zero global warming potential, using metals as solid-state refrigerant material instead of the harmful fluids used in cooling systems today. The interdisciplinary project consortium consisting of three European Universities from Germany, Italy and Slovenia and one emerging high-tech Company from Ireland, will cover several project objectives, including the construction and validation of an application-specific elastocaloric cooling system device, the creation of a versatile validation environment for quantitative validation of future elastocaloric devices, the realization of a multi-physical numerical simulation platform for simulative assistance in elastocaloric device development, the development and characterization of elastocaloric-specific optimized materials, and the development of an efficient electric drive unit suited for the specific needs of elastocaloric system devices. The resulting SMACool system is targeting an efficiency increase by a factor of two to three compared to state-of-the-art HVAC (Heat, Ventilation, and Air-Conditioning) systems and will have high impact on potentially cutting down global energy consumption in the residential building sector and also other cold generation fields.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology environmental engineering ecosystem-based management climatic change mitigation
- engineering and technology mechanical engineering thermodynamic engineering
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.3.1 - The European Innovation Council (EIC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-EIC - HORIZON EIC Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-EIC-2023-PATHFINDERCHALLENGES-01
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
66123 Saarbrucken
Germany
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.