A paradigm shift for the future's thermal management devices through radical innovation in new materials and additive manufacturing

Introduction

Thermal management is in strong need of new material innovation. Stunningly, large data centres spend up to 40% of their total energy consumption to run the cooling system. Other examples include the cooling of electronics and the thermal control of electric vehicle batteries.

Challenges in Thermal Management

Here, the development of innovative solutions is hindered by unsolved problems related to heat removal and transport. The design aspect of thermal control devices has achieved significant progress but is already under pressure.

Need for New Materials

New flexible materials that can be processed with Additive Manufacturing (AM) and exhibit thermal performances not yet seen are now strongly required. In ThermoDust, we aim to achieve a real breakthrough in this direction.

Project Goals

We are set to join nanotechnology and process engineering with scalable industrial AM for the specific purpose of solving the thermal control problem. This is not an incremental step, as it has not been done before.

Methodology

Our starting ground is micron-sized metallic powder, typically used in Powder Bed Fusion or Cold Spray processes. We will explore the addition of a performing 2D-material phase to the feedstock powder by using innovative techniques.

Objectives

The final aim is to engineer a radically new material (ThermoDust) with outstanding heat-transport performance. We will also demonstrate the feasibility of using AM to process ThermoDust in order to form demonstrator devices that will outperform current means of heat dissipation.

Key Sectors

We intend to prove this in three key sectors:

1. Electronics
2. Electric vehicles (EV)
3. Aerospace

This will be achieved through the development of specific proofs of concept.

Conclusion

We are confident in our ability to achieve the overall objectives through a sophisticated multi-disciplinary methodology that will rely upon scientific investigations and the exploitation of discoveries. Our goal is to establish Europe as a leader in heat management, paving the way for innumerable new innovative products and markets in ICT, aerospace, electric vehicles, and related areas.