A Baton Rouge firm will take the breakthrough heating and cooling material discovered by LSU physics professor Shane Stadler and could begin developing a prototype heating and cooling system that is more efficient and environmentally friendly.
Herbert Presley, managing partner of Magnetic Cool LLC, has licensed the magnetocaloric material and is currently testing it for commercial applications, LSU says in a news release.
“Magnetic Cool was formed to commercialize a breakthrough in solid state refrigeration that has the potential to solve a worldwide problem with harmful fluorocarbon gases used in conventional systems while dramatically reducing energy consumption,” Presley says. “Magnetic Cool has followed Dr. Stadler’s research for the last two years and has officially licensed the technology and is looking to generate interest from industry partners to help bring this to market.”
LSU announced in March that Stadler had made the breakthrough in the next generation of heating and cooling technologies.
The material uses a magnetic field to heat itself and removes the magnetic field to cool the material below its ambient temperature, LSU says. Throughout the entire process, the material stays in a solid state, which makes it more energy efficient than the compressed gas systems on the market today.
That also eliminates the fluorocarbons and can reduce energy usage by 20% to 50% in residential and commercial heating and cooling systems.
“Shane Stadler’s research is a brilliant example of how LSU is bringing inventions and innovations from idea to the marketplace,” Andrew Maas, director of the Office of Innovation & Technology Commercialization at LSU, says in a prepared statement. “Working with Magnetic Cool demonstrates the strength of matching LSU research to drive innovation and commercialization that enhance the community and benefit the public.”
