Project description
Pioneering technology for waste-heat conversion
Huge amounts of heat generated through energy consumption are lost – up to 50 % in industry and 70 % in vehicles. If this waste heat could be efficiently converted back into useful energy, it would certainly contribute to combatting the global energy crisis. To address this, the EU-funded MAGENTA project aims to develop magneto-thermoelectric technology based on ionic liquids and ferrofluids that can transform waste heat into electricity. It will create prototypes for application in the microelectronics and automotive industries, as well as a demonstration model for public exhibition. Overall, the project intends to benefit the European energy transition with an economical and environmentally sustainable solution.
Objective
MAGENTA proposes a brand new technological path in thermoelectric materials research for waste-heat recovery applications. The originality of the project is based on the newly discovered thermal-to-electric energy conversion capacity of ionic-liquids and ferrofluids; i.e. colloidal dispersions of magnetic nanoparticles in ionic liquids (IL-FFs). It is an inter-disciplinary and cross-sector R&D project combining concepts and techniques from physics, chemistry and electrochemistry with an active participation from 3 SME and 1 industrial partners implicated in the materials supply-chain, the device design/performance and the market-uptake assessment. Both experimental and theoretical approaches will be employed to build foundational knowledge on novel magneto-thermoelectric phenomena in ferrofluids. Computational simulations will allow ‘bottom-up’ construction of IL-FFs with optimal conditions for harvesting energy. The end-products of MAGENTA, application specific magneto-thermoelectric materials and devices, will provide innovation leadership to European companies in waste-heat recovery industries. The lead-user industries targeted by MAGENTA are automobile and microelectronic sectors, but demonstration-type thermoelectric generators will also be produced for public outreach actions on waste-heat recovery technologies. Through its foundational, interdisciplinary and cross-sector research & innovation actions, the consortium will become a “seed community” for building an innovation ecosystem around the novel magneto-thermoelectric technology, presenting long-term impacts on future renewal energy science and technology from which the society as a whole can benefit. Withal, MAGENTA offers breakthrough thermoelectric materials that are versatile, cost-effective and non-toxic to assist the economically and environmentally sustainable energy transition in Europe.
Fields of science
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuelsrenewable energy
- natural scienceschemical sciencesorganic chemistryorganic reactions
- natural scienceschemical sciencesinorganic chemistryhalogens
- engineering and technologynanotechnologynano-materials
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuelsenergy conversion
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
RIA - Research and Innovation actionCoordinator
75015 PARIS 15
France