News
01/01/2021. GE&R is awarded a Phase I SBIR from the National Science Foundation for Development of High Efficiency Thermoelectric Materials for Sub 200K Space Applications
Grant Abstract: The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I project will advance the state-of-the-art in low temperature thermoelectric devices for space applications enabling advanced space travel as well as improvements to satellite wireless and worldwide mobile internet availability. With the increased interest in space exploration from industrial efforts, a significantly improved low temperature thermoelectric module could capture a sizable portion of the rapidly growing thermoelectric module market which is estimated to be ~$1 Billion by 2024. Significantly improved low temperature thermoelectrics would also open the door for the use of these devices in other low temperature thermal management systems, where the poor efficiency of cooling technologies operating in the cryogenic regime have been a major challenge.
This Small Business Innovative Research Phase I project aims to improve the efficiency (ZT) of thermoelectric cooling modules using advanced materials and a novel module design concept. Bismuth-antimony (BiSb)-based single crystal materials with applied magnetic fields have long been known as the highest performance materials for sub 100K applications but they have not yet found commercial utility due to a variety of challenges. The research effort aims to address these challenges and develop both p-type and n-type single crystal BiSb based alloys with ZT > 0.4 at 90 K and application of less than 1 Tesla magnetic field, which would be a four-fold improvement in efficiency at sub 100 K compared to current state of the art.
This Small Business Innovative Research Phase I project aims to improve the efficiency (ZT) of thermoelectric cooling modules using advanced materials and a novel module design concept. Bismuth-antimony (BiSb)-based single crystal materials with applied magnetic fields have long been known as the highest performance materials for sub 100K applications but they have not yet found commercial utility due to a variety of challenges. The research effort aims to address these challenges and develop both p-type and n-type single crystal BiSb based alloys with ZT > 0.4 at 90 K and application of less than 1 Tesla magnetic field, which would be a four-fold improvement in efficiency at sub 100 K compared to current state of the art.
07/01/2020. GE&R is awarded a grant from the California Energy Commission to develop and test a high efficiency magnetic refrigeration technology that has the potential to reduce electricity and capital costs by operating in the cryogenic temperature regime of 10-80 Kelvin.
08/19/2019. GE&R is awarded a STTR Phase IIB grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to demonstrate high efficiency magnetic refrigeration for cryogenic applications which will utilize our novel magnetocaloric materials.
Grant Abstract: Replacement of petroleum based vehicles with fuel cell electric vehicles operating on hydrogen produced from domestically available resources would dramatically decrease emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants as well as reduce dependence on oil from politically volatile regions of the world. One major inhibitor to a hydrogen society is the lack of infrastructure, which requires hydrogen liquefaction refrigeration systems to provide safe and economical storage and transportation of this fuel. One of the more promising technologies of interest for hydrogen liquefaction is magnetic refrigeration due to its high efficiency particularly at cryogenic temperatures. Magnetic Refrigeration utilizes the magnetocaloric effect (MCE), which is the temperature variation of a magnetic material after exposure to a magnetic field. There are several major issues that need to be solved to move this technology forward. One issue inhibiting magnetic refrigeration progress is the lack of commercially available low cost MCE materials that will actually function, for a long period of time, in a magnetic refrigeration environment. During the Phase I and II efforts novel low cost compositions with 2nd order, hysteresis-free response to cover the entire 9-300 K temperature range were successfully discovered. These materials are now commercially available in small quantities on www.geandr.com webstore, and they are the highest performance materials on the market. Another major issue inhibiting magnetic refrigeration from moving forward is that very little work has been done designing and engineering actual systems which utilize the MCE mechanism. The Phase IIB effort will bridge the gap between material science and engineering application. We will use our MCE materials and build a high efficiency (>50% of Carnot) magnetic refrigeration system to demonstrate small scale liquefaction. A variety of commercial opportunities for high efficiency small scale liquefaction systems exist, however, one major opportunity, which would also be an enabling technology for fuel cell electric vehicles is the reduction/elimination of boil-off losses at hydrogen fueling stations. The boil-off losses create logistical challenges that inhibit scale-up. Economical and efficient systems to re-liquefy H2 would solve these problems. If successfully implemented, this could have a major impact on the automobile industry. Further, successful demonstration of a high-efficiency cost-competitive system for a relevant commercial application would validate this technology and stimulate industrial innovation with the potential to advance the state-of-the-art in all refrigeration technologies.
08/01/2019. GE&R is awarded a grant from the California Energy Commission to scale-up manufacturing of our magnetocaloric materials!
07/31/2017. GE&R is awarded a STTR Phase II grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to continue developing our magnetocaloric materials.
Grant Abstract: Replacement of petroleum based vehicles with fuel cell electric vehicles operating on hydrogen produced from domestically available resources would dramatically decrease emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants as well as reduce dependence on oil from politically volatile regions of the world. One major inhibitor to a hydrogen society is the lack of infrastructure, which requires hydrogen liquefaction refrigeration systems to provide safe and economical storage and transportation of this fuel. One of the more promising technologies of interest for hydrogen liquefaction is magnetic refrigeration due to its high efficiency. Magnetic Refrigeration utilizes the magnetocaloric effect (MCE), which is the temperature variation of a magnetic material after exposure to a magnetic field. A critical challenge of developing low cost magnetic refrigerators is the cost and availability of MCE materials, which are typically expensive rare-earth. During the Phase I effort, promising low cost high performance MCE materials were discovered which function at sub 50K temperature range, which encompasses the hydrogen liquefaction temperature (20K). The Phase II will involve a simultaneous effort of optimizing processing for the sub 50K materials to meet commercial requirements, while also continuing to identify promising MCE alloys for >50K applications. The proposed research has the potential to contribute to a fundamental understanding of MCE within nanoscience and also advance the state-of-the-art in refrigeration technologies. The proposed low cost MCE materials would reduce the MCE material cost for hydrogen liquefaction systems by greater than 95%, offering an enormous commercial opportunity ((>$20M annual U.S. gross sales), and opening the door for reliable, low cost, and energy-efficient hydrogen liquefaction systems. Additionally, all working MCE materials developed during this research will be made commercially available for online purchase in small quantities. This will accelerate the development of innovative magnetic refrigeration technologies for all temperature applications: hydrogen liquefaction (20K), nitrogen liquefaction (80K), space applications (100-200K), and room temperature refrigeration and air conditioning.
07/12/2017. GE&R will present on our work on novel magnetocaloric materials and technologies at the 2017 Cryogenic Engineering Conference and the International Cryogenic Materials Conference (CEC/ICMC) in Madison, WI. The conference will feature the latest research and state-of-the-art developments in all cryogenics areas, including superconductivity, cryocoolers, cryogenic materials, and applications.
Join us Tuesday July 12, 2017 to learn about our low cost high performance magnetocaloric materials for sub 50K refrigeration applications. One major inhibitor to a hydrogen society is economical systems to support safe storage and transportation of this fuel. Magnetic refrigeration has emerged as a promising technology for hydrogen liquefaction due to its potential high efficiency and environmentally friendly operation. Magnetic refrigeration utilizes the magnetocaloric effect (MCE), which is the temperature variation of a magnetic material after exposure to a magnetic field. Several critical challenges exist for developing low cost magnetic refrigerators. Challenges specific to MCE materials include the cost, availability, stability, and performance of the material in a refrigeration device (i.e. where fast magnetization and demagnetization cycles are required). The best known MCE materials for sub 80K applications are expensive rare-earth and are not commercially available. We are developing low cost rare-earth Ce- and Nd- based ternary alloys which yield only 2nd order phase transitions (no hysteresis) and performance (DS) higher than current best materials. With small changes in the composition, the MCE response temperature can be shifted between 10K-50K, allowing system based optimization for various liquefaction applications. Work is ongoing to optimize processing, performance, and shaping of the MCE materials into a useable structure for magnetic refrigeration devices.
06/19/2017 General Engineering & Research wins prestigious CalSEED grant! California continues to lead the nation and the world in energy efficiency standards. As a small business in California, GE&R is developing energy efficient technologies and is one of eight CalSEED awardees in this inaugural program. CalSEED is a California Energy Commission initiative to invest in novel solutions to energy challenges. The Energy Commission approved more than $1 million in grants for innovators and entrepreneurs working to bring early-stage clean energy concepts to market by connecting money to investments, ideas to support, and issues to solutions. Our CalSEED project focuses on building hydrogen infrastructure. Adoption of fuel cell vehicles in the US has been slow, in part, due to the lack of hydrogen fueling stations that are expensive to build as there is currently no economical hydrogen liquefaction systems to facilitate storage of this fuel. Our goal is to enable high efficiency hydrogen liquefaction storage via magnetic refrigeration.
06/01/2017 GE&R was among the Top 12 pitching finalists for 2017’s 3rd annual InnovateHER - Hera Labs & mystartupXX San Diego competition. InnovateHER is a cross-cutting business challenge to unearth innovative products and services that help impact and empower the lives of women and families. We pitched our novel nano-therapy to prevent breast cancer recurrence to a lively audience of over 100 attendants.
Mary and Robin representing GE&R at San Diego’s 2017 InnovateHER pitch competition.
GE&R’s translational research division develops nanotechnology based solutions towards clinically relevant applications, and this was the first time we presented our breast cancer therapy to a public audience. GE&R is passionate about investigating solutions to stop cancer from coming back. Breast cancer will develop in 1 out of every 8 women within her lifetime, and recurrence will occur in up to 40% of survivors. Eliminating recurrence would save hospital costs, and reduce the overshadowing burden survivors face in wondering if the cancer will come back, how they will afford their care, and how their families will be affected. Nanotherapies targeting cancer tend to focus on detection and penetration into cancer tissue. Our focus is on post-surgical treatment to eliminate recurrence.