The future of eco-friendly cooling: Enhancing efficiency and sustainability of magnetic refrigerants

Conventional air conditioners and refrigerators rely on vapor-compression cycles and chemical refrigerants that contribute significantly to global warming. Magnetic refrigeration offers a cleaner alternative using the magnetocaloric effect (MCE), a phenomenon where certain materials change temperature when exposed to a magnetic field. Until now, researchers have faced a fundamental dilemma: Materials with a high cooling effect often suffered from irreversible energy losses, an effect known as hysteresis, which leads to rapid degradation in the cooling effect under operating conditions. Conversely, the conventional durable materials failed to achieve the large cooling effect required for practical application.