Maryland Energy and Sensor Technologies
Our Technology
Thermoelastic cooling is a novel solid-state cooling technology. It is based on the latent heat associated with reversible martensitic phase transformations. The latent heat in martensites had been studied and utilized for several decades, but most of the applications had been for actuation or heat engine. Little attention had been paid to the potential of the thermoelastic effect for cooling and refrigeration applications. Our goal is to develop applications of the thermoelastic cooling technology for commercial use across various industries.
Key Facts About Thermoelastic Cooling
· Highly efficient: the refrigerant efficiency of thermoelastic cooling can be as high as 70% of the Carnot limit (for Th = 298 K and Tc = 288 K). See Physics Today 68, 48 (2025) (https://physicstoday.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/PT.3.3022)
· Environmentally friendly: it completely eliminates the use of materials with ozone depletion potential (ODP) and global warming potential (GWP).
· Cost effective: it does not contain any expensive noble-metal or rare-earth elements, and its manufacturability is high.
Key Publications
- Huilong Hou, Emrah Simsek, Tao Ma, Nathan S. Johnson, Suxin Qian, Cheikh Cisse, Drew Stasak, Naila Al Hasan, Lin Zhou, Yunho Hwang, Reinhard Radermacher, Valery I. Levitas, Matthew J. Kramer, Mohsen Asle, Zaeem, Aaron P. Stebner, Ryan T. Ott, Jun Cui, Ichiro Takeuchi, “Fatigue-resistant high-performance elastocaloric materials by additive manufacturing,” Science 366, 1116 (2019).
- Jun Cui, Yiming Wu, Jan Muehlbauer, Yunho Hwang, Reinhard Radermacher, Manfred Wuttig, Ichiro Takeuchi, Demonstration of high efficiency elastocaloric cooling with large DT using NiTi wires., Appl. Phys. Lett. 101, 073904 (2012).
In the News
- In November 2018, MEST is awarded the U.S. patent on thermoelastic cooling (US10119059B2).
- In March 2014, The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) rated the thermoelastic cooling as the most promising technology for Energy Savings Potential and RD&D Opportunities for Non-Vapor-Compression HVAC Technology. For Full Report (Click here)