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Hydrogen serves as a key clean energy carrier for decarbonization. Liquefied hydrogen offers high volumetric energy density for efficient storage and transport. However, its low liquefaction temperature of 20 K makes the process energy-intensive. This study investigates magnetic refrigeration as a potential method to enhance hydrogen liquefaction efficiency. Utilizing the magnetocaloric effect (MCE), magnetic refrigeration enables an efficient cooling cycle, which reduces energy consumption in the liquefaction process. Herein, granular HoAl2 particles have been proposed, given their significant specific heat and strong MCE. To boost the temperature span, an Active Magnetic Regenerative Refrigerator (AMRR) is deployed. In the present study, different magnetocaloric materials have been utilized to examine the hydrogen liquefaction efficiency in comparison to HoAl2. The cooling power and coefficient of performance are systematically evaluated using heat transfer, fluid flow, and magnetic field cycling of the numerical AMRR model. Accordingly, the hydrogen liquefaction efficiency (η_II) and hydrogen yield are evaluated, under an applied magnetic field of 5 T to quantify their impact on system-level performance. The results show a potential second-law efficiency (η_II) over 60% and cooling capacity over 100 W using HoAl2 under an operating range of 20-30 K. On the other hand, ErAl2 can achieve a η_II over 40% and cooling capacity over 40 W under the operating range of 10-20 K. Taking advantage of those materials will eventually upgrade hydrogen utilization and push boundaries toward achieving a hydrogen society.

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Keyword: Magnetic refrigeration, Hydrogen liquefaction, strong MCE

Conference: THERMAG XI 2026 | 11th IIR International Conference on Caloric Cooling and Energy Harvesting (2026-06-07 - 2026-06-11)

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Manuscript type: Not a journal article

MDR DOI: https://doi.org/10.48505/nims.6360

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Updated at: 2026-06-23 16:20:48 +0900

Published on MDR: 2026-06-23 18:28:45 +0900