The EU-funded HyLICAL project has inaugurated Europe’s first magnetocaloric pilot plant for hydrogen liquefaction, developed jointly by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and German start-up MAGNOTHERM. The demonstrator marks a key milestone in advancing energy-efficient, climate-friendly hydrogen cooling without conventional compressors or refrigerant gases.
The pilot plant, based at the High Magnetic Field Laboratory Dresden (HLD), uses a 19-tesla superconducting magnet to test the liquefaction of hydrogen via the magnetocaloric effect. The system aims to cool hydrogen to -253°C following pre-cooling with liquid nitrogen, with the goal of significantly reducing liquefaction costs. The partners plan to demonstrate scalability by increasing output to 100 kilograms of liquid hydrogen per day, as part of a long-term vision to eventually reach 5,000 kilograms per day.
MAGNOTHERM and HZDR have collaborated since 2023 under the HyLICAL initiative to integrate academic research with industrial application. A joint lab was established on the Rossendorf campus in 2024 to develop the technology. “Our magnetic cooling technology represents a new type of climate-friendly and energy-efficient alternative, without compressors and environmentally harmful refrigerant gases,” said Timur Sirman, Co-Managing Director of MAGNOTHERM.
The technology is based on the magnetocaloric effect, where materials such as lanthanum-iron-silicon alloys (LaFeSi) change temperature when exposed to a magnetic field. This principle offers potential efficiency gains of 30–50% compared to conventional hydrogen liquefaction systems.
“Our method offers significant advantages for hydrogen liquefaction,” said Dr. Tino Gottschall, scientist at HZDR. “With the MAGNOTHERM joint lab at HZDR, we aim to reduce liquefaction costs to below €1.50 per kilogram of hydrogen, compared to conventional plants.”
