Project Grant DEFG0206ER84646

This $300,000 National Science Foundation project grant supports the development of a new sub-kelvin refrigerator using superfluid helium vortex cooling. Funded under the Engineering (47.041) program, Yale University will analyze, design, build a prototype, and benchmark a two-stage cooling system combining a superfluid vortex cooler and Joule-Thomson precooler. The system aims to achieve high-capacity cooling below 1K without using helium-3, addressing stockpile depletion issues. By...

This two-year, $297,189 Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's Division of Materials Research aims to develop new approaches for ultra-low temperature refrigeration without reliance on rare helium isotopes. Specifically, researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute will investigate using electrically-tunable spin-orbit interactions in Rashba materials to achieve refrigeration through adiabatic electrification, with a goal of reaching temperatures as low as 0.01 K. If successful,...

The Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded Energy Concepts Company, LLC $175,000 under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program/Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program to develop an innovative refrigeration cycle for small-scale refrigeration. Energy Concepts will modify an existing propane-fired diffusion absorption chiller to enable operation using heat from renewable energy sources like solar thermal, geothermal, waste heat,...

The National Science Foundation awarded a $225,000 two-year Project Grant to Stanford University under the Mathematical and Physical Sciences program (CFDA 47.049). The grant will support research into developing materials and techniques to enable sub-kelvin cooling via adiabatic decompression of para-nematic materials. Specifically, Stanford University researchers will identify and characterize rare earth compound materials with thermoelastic properties suitable for cryogenic cooling without...

This National Science Foundation project grant of $150,000 supports research at the University of Connecticut to develop a new solid-state millikelvin quantum elastocaloric adiabatic refrigeration technology. Funded under the Engineering program (CFDA 47.041), the two-year award running from January 2023 to December 2024 will realize a cooling cycle achieved via periodic application of elastic strain/stress, without or with small magnetic field, on frustrated magnet materials. Researchers will...

Global Cooling Technology Group LLC received a $296,000 Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I Project Grant from the National Science Foundation under the NSF Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program (CFDA 47.084). The grant supports research and development of innovative two-phase cooling technologies using micro closed loop pulsating heat pipes for applications in high power density electronics. The STTR program aims to stimulate technological innovation through cooperative...

Federal Cooperative Agreement Summary H-Bar Instruments, LLC received a $1.25M Cooperative Agreement award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP) program (CFDA 47.084) effective September 1, 2025, through August 31, 2027. The company is developing and commercializing a liquid helium transmission electron microscopy (TEM) sample holder designed to enable atomic-resolution imaging at cryogenic temperatures previously inaccessible in...

The National Science Foundation awarded a $298,856 Project Grant to the Regents of the University of Michigan under the Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) for the period of October 1, 2022 through September 30, 2024. The grant funds the development of superconducting tunnel junction-based solid-state refrigeration to enable cooling from 1 K to sub-100 mK temperatures. Successful demonstration of high cooling rates and temperatures as low as 100 mK would dramatically impact quantum technologies...

This National Science Foundation (NSF) Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (CFDA 47.084) Project Grant provides $274,771 to H-Bar Instruments, LLC to develop a novel liquid helium transmission electron microscope (TEM) specimen holder. The holder will enable atomic-scale imaging of materials and devices at temperatures as low as 10 Kelvin, overcoming limitations of current low-temperature TEM capabilities. The project aims to create a commercially viable instrument that can turn any TEM...

Federal Grant Award Summary Funding Agency & Program: National Science Foundation (NSF) Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP) Program (CFDA 47.084) Award Details: R7 Instruments Inc. received $303,669 in Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding, effective October 1, 2025, with a completion date of September 30, 2026. Products and Services: This project involves the development and demonstration of a novel acoustic expander-based air-cycle refrigeration system...