Sbir phase i: acoustic expander for air-cycle flash freezers and ultra-low temperature refrigerators

Federal Grant Award Summary

R7 Instruments Inc. received a $303,669 Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program (CFDA 47.084), effective October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026. The award supports development and demonstration of a novel acoustic-based air-cycle refrigeration system capable of achieving ultra-low temperatures (-80°C) without relying on synthetic or flammable refrigerants. The core innovation centers on an acoustic expander mechanism that serves as a mechanically simple replacement for traditional turbine-based expansion devices in Brayton-cycle refrigeration systems. This technology development is conducted at the awardee's Somerville, Massachusetts facility.

The project addresses significant commercial opportunities in flash freezing of food products, biological sample preservation, and healthcare applications where current vapor-compression refrigeration systems present cost, regulatory, and environmental constraints. The acoustic expander-based system offers competitive advantages including single-compressor architecture, non-hermetic component design, reduced ice buildup, lower capital costs, and operational efficiency comparable to or exceeding traditional vapor-compression units while reducing regulatory burden. Upon successful demonstration, the awardee anticipates commercialization through partnership with an established U.S. manufacturer, with initial market adoption projected in the food processing sector.

Abstract

The broader impact /commercial potential of this small business innovation research (sbir) phase i project is a new low temperature freezer system that does not use potentially harmful refrigerants. These freezers are used in flash freezing of food products, preservation of biological samples, and in the healthcare industry. The advantage of this technology over the current refrigeration solutions is that air can be used as the refrigerant instead of a synthetic refrigerant which may prevent ICE build-up and improves technoeconomic performance. If this technology demonstration is successful, there will possibly be a joint partnership with an establish US manufacturer to commercialize the technology for the public. The unique patented acoustic based cooling system is the key enabler of this low temperature freezer concept. Initial market adoption is projected to be realized in the food processing space. This small business innovation research (sbir) phase i project is focused on a novel air cycle -80C refrigeration system that uses an acoustic expander to provide the cooling effect. Air cycle systems offer advantages over traditional vapor-compression machines that use synthetic or flammable refrigerants. These advantages are single compressor architectures, non-hermetically sealed components, and low ICE build-up in the freezer all while maintaining similar or higher coefficients of performance to that of a vapor-compression machine at much lower capital cost and with fewer operational/regulatory restrictions. Previous air-cycle systems were limited by the expensive turbine-based compressors and expanders. This project improves on previous attempts with an off the shelf compressor and a mechanically simple acoustic expander. The acoustic expander is a fundamentally different expansion machine is a drop-in replacement for a turbine expander in a brayton-style refrigeration architecture. This dramatically reduces capital cost and can leverage existing off-the-shelf heat exchangers and compressors to reach scale. This sbir will aim to demonstrate a reliable, 1 KW acoustic expander-based cooling system at -80C. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.- subawards are not planned for this award.