At EuroShop, HAUSER and MAGNOTHERM presented a prototype demonstrating how magnetocaloric cooling could be used in refrigeration cabinets in the future – without refrigerants, safe and energy‑efficient. MAGNOTHERM originated from a research project at the Technical University of Darmstadt, where research into magnetocaloric cooling has been conducted since 2002. In 2019, the team around Managing Director Timur Sirman founded the company. In the interview, he explains why the technology has the potential to fundamentally change refrigeration technology.

What exactly is the technology and what makes it so innovative?

"We can completely dispense with conventional refrigerants and instead use magnetocaloric materials. When these materials are magnetised, they heat up; when demagnetised, they cool down. In our system, water is passed through this material, generating cooling and only a small amount of waste heat. In principle, the technology is suitable for almost all refrigeration applications – from medium temperature to deep‑freeze cooling. At present, our systems reliably achieve temperatures between 0 and 30 degrees Celsius; in the future, ranges from –5 to +50 degrees Celsius as well as deep‑freeze applications will be possible. Energy consumption is significantly lower than that of conventional systems, while less waste heat is generated, which can also be utilised. In addition, our system operates only 1–2 kelvin above ambient temperature, further increasing efficiency. With an operating pressure of just 1 bar, the solution is particularly safe and easy to maintain."

Why is MAGNOTHERM’s know‑how unique?

"Our strength lies in the combination of materials science and classical mechanical engineering. Three technological breakthroughs have made our system market‑ready: first, we have developed a very stable, scalable system. Second, magnetocaloric materials can now be produced in series at realistic costs. Third, our concept can be scaled to capacities ranging from 50 kW to 500 kW. While there are other alternatives to gas compression, our system is the most advanced. Looking at the market, the number of patents in this field is increasing, but functional prototypes are still very rare worldwide."