Molecule-based Magneto/electro/mechano-Calorics

MolCal will contribute to establishing a critical mass of researchers in promising exploratory topics on caloric materials and energy
conversion technologies for solid-state cooling and heating applications at near-ambient and very-low temperatures. Temperature
control systems are responsible for approximately half of the EU energy consumption expenditure. This figure alone amply justifies
the need to dedicate great efforts to the search for alternative refrigeration and heat pump methods. Research on caloric materials
has never been as active as it is now, due to the prospect of new-generation refrigerators and heat pumps that are energy efficient
and environmentally friendly, on the one hand, and the policies on low-energy consumption and global warming refrigerants, on the
other. MolCal presents an approach never tried before in similar collaborative research training programmes. We will consider caloric
materials that fall under the umbrella of molecule-based materials and can respond to different sources of the driving stimulus, be it
magnetic, electric, and/or mechanical. Since there is no clear-cut consensus on which type of caloric material holds the most promise,
this multi-front approach will be an advantage because it will permit transfer of methods already developed from the magnetocaloric
subfield into the others, which are increasingly in the spotlight because of their enormous potentiality. Furthermore, MolCal will
develop devices based on low-cost barocaloric materials and, due to the molecular characteristics, will progress towards challenging
applications by exploring the limits of the smallest size of magnetic refrigerators. Academic and non-academic leaders, from top
research institutions in Europe and outside, will expose the doctoral researchers to integrative, multidisciplinary, and multisectoral
training in chemistry, materials science, physics, device development, and relevant transversal skills.