EU-funded pilot project claims hydrogen liquefaction breakthrough | Hydrogen
An EU-funded project has launched the continent’s first magnetocaloric pilot plant which could reduce hydrogen liquefaction costs to below €1.50 per kilo. The pilot, developed with HyLical by Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and startup Magnotherm, may pave the way for large-scale industrial applications. Magnetic cooling technology represents a new type of climate-friendly and energy-efficient power, without compressors and environmentally harmful refrigerant gases. The magnetocaloric effect occurs when materials with certain properties – such as lanthanum-iron-silicon alloy (LaFeSi) – are placed in a magnetic field. Depending on the orientation of the magnetic moments, the metallic materials can cause a sudden drop or rise in temperature. Using this principle, it is possible to cool hydrogen to –253°C after pre-cooling with liquid nitrogen. This triggers liquefaction. Dr Tino Gottschall, scientist at HZDR’s High Magnetic Field Laboratory Dresden (HLD), has… Read More »EU-funded pilot project claims hydrogen liquefaction breakthrough | Hydrogen