MAGENTA proposed a brand new technological path in thermoelectric materials research for waste-heat recovery applications. The originality of the project was based on the newly discovered thermal-to-electric energy conversion capacity of ionic-liquids and ferrofluids; i.e., colloidal dispersions of magnetic nanoparticles in ionic liquids (IL-FFs). It was an inter-disciplinary and cross-sector R&D project combining concepts and techniques from physics, chemistry and electrochemistry with an active participation from 3 SME and 1 industrial partners implicated in the materials supply-chain, the device design/performance and the market-uptake assessment. Both experimental and theoretical approaches were employed to build foundational knowledge on novel magneto-thermoelectric phenomena in ferrofluids. Computational simulations allowed ‘bottom-up’ construction of IL-FFs with optimal conditions for harvesting energy. The end-products of MAGENTA, application specific magneto-thermoelectric materials and devices, were aiming to provide innovation leadership to European companies in waste-heat recovery industries. The lead-user industries targeted by MAGENTA were automobile and microelectronic sectors, but demonstration-type thermoelectric generators would also be produced for public outreach actions on waste-heat recovery technologies.

Partners involved: four  Research Centers (CEA-Paris(FR), CNR-Rome (IT),NCSRD (GR) and CRFiat (IT)), three Universities (Sorbonne-Paris (Fr),  GUT(PL) and Neuchâtel (CH)), two SMEs (C-TECH (UK), Gemmate Technologies (IT)) and a company (Solvionic (FR)).