Europe's First Magnetic Thermal Pilot Plant for Hydrogen Liquefaction Launched: Magnetic Cooling Supports Efficient Hydrogen Liquefaction

Recently, the EU-funded HyLICAL project reached a significant milestone by launching Europe's first magnetocaloric pilot plant for hydrogen liquefaction. The demonstrator, developed within HyLICAL by Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and the startup MAGNOTHERM, represents a breakthrough in sustainable, energy-efficient magnetic cooling and lays the foundation for large-scale industrial applications.

Dr. Tino Gottschall, a scientist at HZDR's Dresden High Magnetic Field Laboratory (HLD), has long envisioned a plant capable of producing 5,000 kg of liquid hydrogen per day—more efficiently and economically than today's liquefaction methods. Together with MAGNOTHERM and other HyLICAL partners, his team is working to demonstrate that hydrogen liquefaction based on the magnetocaloric effect can be scaled up for industrial deployment.

Strategic Partnerships Drive Innovation

Since 2023, HyLICAL partners HZDR and MAGNOTHERM have been collaborating closely, combining academic expertise and enterprise innovation to advance magnetocaloric cooling technology.

MAGNOTHERM opened a second facility at the Rossendorf campus in 2024 and established a joint laboratory that same year, where HZDR scientist Dr. Tino Gottschall and MAGNOTHERM engineer Thomas Platte built a pilot plant for hydrogen liquefaction. At its core is a 19 Tesla superconducting magnet embedded in the floor of HLD. In comparison, modern medical MRI scanners use magnets with strengths of 1.5 to 3 Tesla. Gottschall said, "We can now use this facility to demonstrate the principle and understand how it works. The next goal is to increase efficiency to produce 100 kg of liquid hydrogen per day, proving the technology's scalability for industrial deployment."

The Magnetocaloric Effect: How It Works

The demonstration of Europe's first magnetocaloric hydrogen liquefaction plant is based on the magnetocaloric effect.This effect occurs when materials with specific properties—such as lanthanum-iron-silicon alloys (LaFeSi)—are placed in a magnetic field. Depending on the orientation of the magnetic moments, the metallic material can cause a sudden drop or rise in temperature.Using this principle, after pre-cooling with liquid nitrogen, hydrogen can be cooled to -253 degrees Celsius. Once hydrogen reaches this cryogenic temperature, it begins to liquefy. Dr. Gottschall noted, "Our approach offers significant advantages for hydrogen liquefaction. Compared to conventional plants and in contrast to the MAGNOTHERM joint laboratory at HZDR, we aim to reduce liquefaction costs to below 1.5 euros per kg."

A New Era of Hydrogen Cooling

The launch of the pilot plant is a key step for HyLICAL in advancing energy-efficient, compact hydrogen liquefaction technology based on magnetocaloric cooling. By validating this approach on a pilot scale, the project supports Europe's goals of producing green hydrogen more cost-effectively, reducing transportation costs, and accelerating the transition to a climate-neutral energy system.