€2.2m backing for solid-state cooling launch

GERMANY: Qurie GmbH, a spin-off from the Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Techniques IPM, is entering the market with a solid-state heat pump based on electrocaloric materials. 

Backed by a €2.2m investment, Qurie’s solid-state technology does away with the use of compressors and traditional refrigerants. 

The new company maintains that while compressor-based heat pumps can only reach 50% of the possible thermodynamic efficiency, caloric systems can theoretically exceed 80%. Electrocaloric heat pumps use the temperature change of a solid-state material under the influence of an electric field to establish a cooling cycle. Compared to magneto- or elastocaloric materials, the system design is said to be simple, as neither magnets nor actuator systems are required. 

Having conducted research on electro-, magneto-, and elastocaloric heat pumps for more than 10 years, Fraunhofer IPM is bringing one of its key innovations to the startup: a globally patented concept for heat dissipation based on active electrocaloric heat pipes (AEH). These heat pipes enable rapid latent heat transfer through the evaporation and condensation of a fluid, such as ethanol or water, on the caloric material. 

“With our heat pipe approach, we dissipate heat very efficiently within the system and can thus achieve significantly higher pump frequencies than were previously possible with heat transport via liquids,” says Dr. Kilian Bartholomé, group manager at Fraunhofer IPM and one of the founders of Qurie, alongside Dr Christian Vogel. 

Qurie’s first target markets are control cabinet and laser cooling. Building on these niche markets, the company plans to subsequently develop electrocaloric systems for commercial cooling and, later, for the consumer market.

The company raised the €2.2m investment last month through a seed funding round with High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), the technology transfer fund TT49 of the European Investment Fund (EIF), and Aepikur GmbH. Development work will be supported in parallel with the company’s launch until the end of this year as part of a research programme funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.

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