UK lab promises air-con revolution without polluting gases
The soft, waxy 'solid refrigerant' being investigated in a UK laboratory may not look very exciting, but its unusual properties promise an air-conditioning revolution that could eliminate the need for greenhouse gases. The substance's temperature can vary by more than 50 degrees Celsius (90 degrees Fahrenheit) under pressure, and unlike the gases currently used in appliances solid refrigerants, it does not leak.
'They don't contribute to global warming, but also they are potentially more energy efficient,' Xavier Moya, a professor of materials physics at the University of Cambridge, told AFP. Approximately two billion air-conditioner units are in use worldwide, and their number is increasing as the planet warms.
Between leaks and energy consumption, the emissions associated with them are also increasing each year, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Moya has been studying the properties of these plastic crystals in his laboratory at the prestigious UK university for 15 years.
On his work surface, a large red and grey machine, topped with a cylinder, tests how the temperature of a substance changes under pressure. The aim is to identify the best refrigerants among this class of materials, which are already used by the chemical industry and are relatively easy to obtain, even if the exact composition of the crystals eventually selected remains secret. The phenomenon is invisible to the naked eye, but these crystals are composed of molecules that spin on their own axis.
When the substance is squeezed, that movement stops and the energy is dissipated in the form of heat. When released, the substance cools its surroundings in what is known as the 'barocaloric effect'.
Founder of Barocal Professor Xavier Moya poses while holding the barocaloric material used in their solid state cooling technology, at their headquarters in Cambridge.
Chilled cans
'We're expecting demand for air conditioning to increase hugely, globally, between now and 2050,' Cliff Elwell, a professor of building physics at University College London, told AFP. He believes barocaloric solids have the potential to be as efficient as gas, if not more so. 'But whatever we introduce as new technologies always has to hit the basic requirements,' which include being compact and quiet enough for use in homes and cars, he said.
Alongside his research at Cambridge, Moya founded the startup Barocal in 2019 to turn his research group's discoveries into tangible products. It employs nine people and has its own laboratory, which is currently a modest container in a parking lot.
But the startup is attracting interest and in recent years has raised around €4 million ($4.5 million), notably from the European Innovation Council -- an EU program involving the UK -- and Breakthrough Energy, an umbrella group of initiatives founded by US billionaire Bill Gates to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It plans to increase its workforce to 25 or 30 this year.
The first air-conditioner prototype is the size of a large suitcase and hums quite loudly when a hydraulic circuit increases or decreases the pressure inside the four crystal-filled cylinders. But it works. A small refrigerator is attached to the system, and the cans of soda inside are perfectly chilled.
The prototype has 'not really been optimized yet for either mass, volume, or even sound', acknowledged Mohsen Elabbadi, a materials engineer at Barocal. But the performance of the units they are working to perfect will eventually be comparable with those running on gas, he promised. While the company is currently focusing on cooling, the technology could also be used to produce heat.
Several teams are studying these materials around the world, but the Cambridge team is a pioneer in the field, according to Breakthrough Energy, which estimates that these devices have the potential to reduce emissions by up to 75 percent compared with traditional units. Barocal hopes to launch a first product on the market within three years, according to commercial director Florian Schabus. These will initially be cooling units for 'large shopping centers, warehouses, schools' and even 'data centres', he said.
The company reasons that the ultimate promise of cheaper bills will convince businesses to stump up the higher initial costs. Barocal is eventually aiming for retail prices similar to traditional units, allowing it to launch in the residential market. - AFP
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Kuwait Times
14 hours ago
- Kuwait Times
S Korea's leader vows to ‘heal wounds' with nuke-armed North
SEOUL: South Korea's President Lee Jae-myung vowed to reach out to the nuclear-armed North and 'heal wounds' as he took office Wednesday, after winning a snap election triggered by his predecessor's disastrous martial law declaration. South Korea's new center-left leader also warned that 'rising protectionism and supply chain restructuring' pose an existential threat to Asia's export-dependent fourth-largest economy, which has been buffeted by the global trade chaos sparked by US President Donald Trump. Lee scored a thumping victory over conservative Kim Moon-soo of the disgraced ex-president's former party. His term began immediately after the vote tally was certified Wednesday. Lee secured 49.4 percent of the vote, ahead of the 41.2 percent for Kim - who conceded, having been hampered by party infighting and a third-party candidate splitting the right-wing vote. Lee spoke to South Korea's top military commander and formally assumed operational control of the country's armed forces Wednesday, urging them to maintain 'readiness' in case of Pyongyang's provocations - but said in his first comments that he was ready to talk. 'We will heal the wounds of division and war and establish a future of peace and prosperity,' he said. 'No matter how costly, peace is better than war.' He said Seoul would 'deter North Korean nuclear and military provocations while opening communication channels and pursuing dialogue and cooperation to build peace on the Korean Peninsula'. Lee took office just hours before US tariffs on steel and aluminum were due to take effect, with the 50 percent levy hitting crucial South Korean exports. 'The rapid changes in the global order such as rising protectionism and supply chain restructuring pose a threat to our very survival,' Lee said. Markets reacted favorably to the election, with the benchmark KOSPI and the won rising Wednesday. 'Significant departure' Lee's comments on North Korea are a 'significant departure' from those of his hawkish predecessor as he did not immediately attach preconditions to dialogue, said Hong Min, a senior analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification. It signals 'his desire to resolve disagreements through talks', Hong told AFP. Lee held a modest inauguration ceremony at the National Assembly - where Yoon deployed armed troops on the night he attempted to suspend civilian rule. Lee also announced a number of top appointments, including long-time adviser Kim Min-seok as prime minister and former unification minister Lee Jong-seok as spy chief. Lee's day is expected to end with a flurry of congratulatory phone calls from world leaders, with Trump likely to be the first on the line. Trump's top diplomat, Marco Rubio, was swift to offer his own congratulations and voice hope for working with Lee, who previously sought greater distance from the United States. Washington's alliance with Seoul was 'ironclad', the US secretary of state said, citing 'shared values and deep economic ties'. In a statement, the White House described the election as 'free and fair'. But it added: 'The United States remains concerned and opposed to Chinese interference and influence in democracies around the world'. Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulated Lee, while emphasizing the 'great importance to the development of China-South Korea relations'. 'The Chinese side is willing to work with the South Korean side to ... firmly maintain the direction of good-neighborly friendship, adhere to the goal of mutual benefit and win-win,' Xi said, according to state media CCTV. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba also said he wanted to 'energize cooperation' between Seoul and Tokyo, South Korea's former colonial ruler. And India's Narendra Modi said on X he wanted to 'strengthen' ties with Seoul as he congratulated Lee. 'Positive direction' Lee comes to power with his party already holding a parliamentary majority - secure for the next three years - meaning he is likely to be able to get his legislative agenda done. On the streets of Seoul, South Koreans said they welcomed Lee's overtures to the North. 'Since our economy and many other aspects of society are closely linked to the state of inter-Korean relations, I hope we can take a long-term perspective and move in a more positive direction,' Choi Ki-ho, 55, told AFP. Lee Ju-yeon, a 42-year-old quasi-public sector employee, said they hoped Lee 'will devote himself to uniting our divided nation'. — AFP
Kuwait Times
21 hours ago
- Kuwait Times
China's factory activity hits lowest since 2022
QINGZHOU: Employees work on a tractor assembly line at a factory in Qingzhou, in eastern China's Shandong province in this photo.- AFP BEIJING: Chinese factory activity hit a more than two-year low in May, a closely watched survey showed Tuesday, as a detente in Beijing's trade war with Washington was offset by ongoing domestic problems in the world's number two economy. China and the United States agreed last month to temporarily halt most tit-for-tat tariffs on each other's goods, providing some much-needed relief to global markets. But the standoff has still piled further pressure on China's economy, which already faced a long-running real-estate crisis, sluggish consumption and high levels of local government debt. The Caixin Purchasing Managers' Index, independently calculated by S&P Global and Chinese business outlet Caixin, fell to 48.3 in May, well below the 50-point threshold separating expansion from contraction. The figure was the lowest since September 2022 and well below the 50.4 seen in April. It was also sharply off the 50.7 forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists. 'The surprisingly sharp fall... means that the survey data now point to a loss of economic momentum last month,' said Zichun Huang, China economist at Capital Economics. 'Domestic headwinds (are) more than offsetting the boost from the US-China trade truce,' she said. Wang Zhe, senior economist at Caixin Insight Group, said the slowdown was linked to 'sluggish external demand, which fell for a second straight month'. The country should target effective measures to boost domestic demand by improving household incomes, Wang added. Official data from the National Bureau of Statistics on Saturday showed a less severe contraction in the factory sector last month. While the NBS figure focuses on large state-owned industrial groups, the Caixin index primarily surveys small and medium-sized enterprises. But in a positive sign, a business sentiment survey by S&P Global and Caixin showed a slight improvement in May after a record drop in April, thanks to expectations of stronger foreign trade through the rest of the year. — AFP
Kuwait Times
21 hours ago
- Kuwait Times
In Cairo, the little indie cinema that could
In the heart of Cairo, a small cinema has for over a decade offered a unique space for independent film in a country whose industry is largely dominated by commercial considerations. Zawya, meaning "perspective" in Arabic, has weathered the storm of Egypt's economic upheavals, championing a more artistic approach from the historical heart of the country's golden age of cinema. Zawya was born in the post-revolutionary artistic fervour of the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime president Hosni Mubarak. "There was this energy where people wanted to produce and create, not just in cinema, but in all the arts, you could feel it," said Zawya founder Youssef Shazli. In the time since, it has escaped a wave of closures -- some forced -- of art centers across the capital. Egypt had long been known as the Hollywood of the Arab world, but in the decades since its mid-century heyday, the domestic industry has largely been restricted to crowd-pleasing blockbusters. "It's often said that we're lucky to have a large film industry, with infrastructure already in place," said filmmaker Maged Nader. "But the truth is this industry operates solely on a commercial logic," leaving little room for independent filmmakers, he added. Yet Zawya has survived in its niche, in part due to the relative financial stability afforded to it by its parent company Misr International Films. Founded in 1972 by Egyptian cinematic giant Youssef Chahine -- Shazli's great uncle -- the company continues to produce and distribute films. People arrive at the Zawya cinema in downtown Cairo. A man walks outside the Zawya cinema in downtown Cairo.--AFP photos Young talent For Shazli, Zawya is "a cinema for films that don't fit into traditional theatres". But for young cinephiles like 24-year-old actress Lujain, "it feels like home," she told AFP as she joined a winding queue into the larger of Zawya's two theatres. Since 2014, Zawya's year-round programming -- including both local and international short films, documentaries and feature films -- has secured the loyalty of a small but passionate scene. Its annual short film festival, held every spring, has become a vital space for up-and-coming directors trying to break through a system that leaves little room for experimentation. "I didn't even consider myself a filmmaker until Zawya screened my short," said Michael Samuel, 24, who works in advertising but says the cinema rekindled his artistic ambition. For many, that validation keeps them going. "Zawya has encouraged more people to produce these films because they finally have somewhere to be seen," said the cinema's manager, Mohamed Said. When Mostafa Gerbeii, a self-taught filmmaker, was looking for a set for his first film shoot, he also turned to the cinema. Without a studio or a budget, Zawya "just lent us their hall for free for a whole day", he said, saving the young director 100,000 Egyptian pounds (around $2,000) to rent a location. The heir The light of its marquee spilling onto downtown Cairo's Emad al-Din Street, Zawya is the 21st-century heir to a long artistic tradition that still lingers, though often hidden away in corners of the district's broad avenues. "It's a unique neighborhood with an equally unique flavor of artistic and intellectual life," said Chihab El Khachab, a professor at the University of Oxford and author of the book "Making Film in Egypt". Starting in the late 19th century, the area was home to the city's biggest theatres and cabarets, launching the careers of the Arab world's most celebrated singers and actors. Today, its arteries flowing out of Tahrir square -- the heart of the 2011 uprising -- the neighborhood is home to new-age coworking spaces and galleries, side by side with century-old theatres and bars. Yet even as it withstands the hegemony of mall multiplexes, Zawya cannot escape Egypt's pervasive censorship laws. Like every cinema in Egypt, each film must pass through a state censors before screening. "Over time, you learn to predict what will slide and what won't," Shazli said. But even the censors' scissors have failed to cut off the stream of ambition among burgeoning filmmakers. "Around Zawya, there's a lot of talent -- in every corner," Shazli said. "But what I wonder is: are there as many opportunities as there is talent? That's the real issue we need to address." - AFP
