SoylentNews

Rich [soylentnews.org] writes:

Freiburg. Germany, based startup Qurie has secured an €2.2M funding for development of electrocaloric heat pump technology (https://tech.eu/2026/05/20/qurie-bags-eur22m-to-scale-sustainable-cooling-technology [tech.eu]). This technology replaces compressors in heat pumps with films of material that releases heat when molecules align in an electric field, and absorbs heat when the molecules go all wiggly again as the electric field is removed. (https://www.ipm.fraunhofer.de/en/bu/gas-and-process-technology/expertise/caloric-systems/electrocaloric-systems.html [fraunhofer.de]).

As of now, the techology is just at lab scale, but for efficiency, it is claimed that the theoretical maximum can exceed that of the usual compressors. For now, the company aims at providing component cooling, and overclockers might enjoy that. Large scale applications like HVAC are considered for a more distant future.

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