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Camfridge hits net zero magnet-powered fridge milestone




Camfridge has completed its first net zero magnetic cooling system – an efficient magnetic refrigerator, cooling a standard mass-produced fridge cabinet from room temperature to 4°C.

Neil Wilson, founder and CEO of Camfridge, with fridge powered by magnets
Neil Wilson, founder and CEO of Camfridge, with fridge powered by magnets

Camfridge is a spin-out from the University of Cambridge, backed by investors including Cambridge Capital Group, Syndicate Room, Cambridge Enterprise and Nesta. With extensive R&D grant support from InnovateUK, the company has expended around £15million over 10 years.

The technology is multi-disciplinary, combining magnetics, materials, thermodynamics and fluid mechanics. Camfridge’s talented eight-person team has successfully built an efficient magnetic refrigerator, cooling a standard mass-produced fridge cabinet from room temperature to 4°C.

“This represents our first net zero cooling system,” a delighted Neil Wilson, CEO and founder, told the Cambridge Independent.

Magnetic cooling exploits the “magnetocaloric effect” – the temperature change some metals undergo when exposed to magnetic fields. This effect is relatively small – only a few degrees – when using magnetic fields produced by energy-efficient permanent magnets, but can be amplified using a device called a regenerator.

The magnets powering the net-zero fridge
The magnets powering the net-zero fridge

The core of Camfridge’s patented magnetic cooling technology is a cooling module, which combines an iron-based magnetocaloric material, configured into a regenerator, with near zero-energy advanced flow control for efficient transportation of heat and cold around applications.

The efficiency of the cooling cycle affords near-perfect work recovery, and the result is a net-zero first which will help to decarbonise refrigeration by replacing often environmentally harmful or flammable refrigerant gases with solid refrigerants.

This is a unique advantage within the field of solid state/caloric cooling. In terms of critical raw materials, Camfridge is also at an advantage because previous developments in magnetic cooling have relied on gadolinium or cobalt-based materials, which are expensive, rare or in high demand. Camfridge works with an iron-based material that contains no critical raw materials. This third-generation refrigerant alloy is the culmination of many years work between Camfridge and suppliers, and means its magnets are dysprosium-free, can be 100 per cent recycled and can be fabricated from the most common types of recycled magnetic materials.

A spokesperson for Camfridge said: “The absence of high-pressure gas has allowed us to take a modular approach, making our technology as easy to repair as fixing a bicycle.

“For the first time, our prototype also brings the concept of material efficiency into the appliance itself, by replacing metallic condensers and evaporators – that can be hard to recycle because of oil contamination – with plastic hot and cold exchangers that can be easily recycled or even made from recycled plastics.”

Camfridge, which has bases at Copley Hill Farm Business Park and in Milton Keynes, collaborates with Imperial College and the University of Birmingham, along with companies across the UK and EU. It has three granted patent families – in Korea, Japan, Europe, the US and China.

A delighted Neil Wilson, founder and CEO of Camfridge, with net-zero fridge
A delighted Neil Wilson, founder and CEO of Camfridge, with net-zero fridge

Neil Wilson added: “This is an important milestone. After several years of development, we have a fantastic new technology which will positively impact on climate change.

“We plan to grow rapidly, attract investment and create jobs, so our customers and society at large can achieve net zero.

Camfridge is now aiming to bring this product to market, and is raising £2.3m to develop a commercial beverage cooler, that will be tested in Sainsbury’s, and be ready to be manufactured. This is the first tranche of the overall £6.9m needed to start producing units at scale.

Camfridge technology will improve the efficiency of typical appliances by between 20 per cent and 40 per cent.



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