Most cooling still relies on what MagnoTherm calls "century-old gas compression cooling systems" and their refrigerants. MagnoTherm, a 2019 spin-off from the Technical University of Darmstadt, cools without refrigerant: a magnetocaloric material heats up when magnetised and cools when the field is removed, and cycling it pumps heat out of the fridge.
The European Innovation Council granted €2,500,000 towards a €3.73 million project that, according to CORDIS, "successfully introduced magnetic cooling into the market with certified magnetic cooling devices". A magnetic fridge premiered at an EDEKA supermarket in 2024, and in February 2026 MagnoTherm announced a pilot with REWE Group in about ten stores. Unit numbers and revenue are not public.
Company file
- Legal entity
- MagnoTherm Solutions GmbH, HRB 99483, Amtsgericht Darmstadt
- Founded
- September 2019, TU Darmstadt spin-off
- Leadership
- Co-CEOs Timur Sirman and Maximilian Fries
- Products
- POLARIS beverage cooler, ECLIPSE toploader; STELLAR in development
- Customers named
- EDEKA (premiere), REWE (pilot), MyMuesli, Gastro-Cool
- Investors
- Extantia Capital, Revent, BMH Hessen, LAUDA, ENGIE New Ventures
- EIC project
- MCD, 1 Jun 2022 to 31 Jan 2025, closed
- EIC funding
- Grant first
Where MagnoTherm Stands Today
The REWE pilot will put ECLIPSE toploader fridges into about ten supermarkets in one German region later in 2026, after a multi-week test in a model store. In June 2026 MagnoTherm presented STELLAR, a modular platform for more than 125 kW of cooling that uses high-temperature superconducting magnets, and said it was "actively seeking technical, commercial, and financial partners". It also works on magnetic cooling for hydrogen liquefaction. German register data compiled by North Data show the company active, with a new public grant for data centre cooling in April 2026.
The Technology: The Magnetocaloric Effect
According to the CORDIS report, the project achieved "a 40% efficiency improvement in magnetocaloric devices", proved the scalability and durability of LaFeSi, a lanthanum-iron-silicon alloy, as the cooling material, and introduced two products, POLARIS and ECLIPSE. In its 2023 funding announcement, co-CEO Timur Sirman said the technology is "up to 40 percent more efficient than conventional solutions" and produces no direct greenhouse gases.
"POLARIS and ECLIPSE demonstrated that this technology works in the real world. STELLAR is about unlocking its full potential."
Timur Sirman, CEO, MagnoTherm, June 2026What the EIC Project Promised, and What CORDIS Shows
The project promised "highly efficient and sustainable refrigeration based on solid state magnetic cooling device". CORDIS reports certified devices on the market, "partnerships with global corporations" and pilot projects, but gives no cooling power, number of units in the field or customer names.
- A certified magnetic coolerDeliveredPOLARIS and ECLIPSE.
- Higher efficiencyDelivered40% gain, company figure.
- Retail customersPartialEDEKA premiere; REWE pilot.
- Volume deploymentNot shownNo unit numbers.
What Has Happened Since the Award
The Money
The award was "grant first"; we found no EIC Fund investment. MagnoTherm raised a €6.3 million seed round in April 2023, led by Extantia Capital, and ENGIE New Ventures joined in October 2023, bringing the seed to €6.8 million. It has also won German public grants. No Series A has been announced.
What cannot be checked
How many fridges MagnoTherm has sold, its revenue, the independent performance of its devices in stores and how it will fund STELLAR are not public.
Why Europe Should Care
The EU's F-gas regulation is phasing down fluorinated refrigerants. A German-made fridge with no refrigerant at all, now in stores of two German supermarket groups, is a direct answer. The EIC funded the step from prototype to certified product.
What the project promised
Efficient, sustainable refrigeration with a solid-state magnetic cooling device.
What the record shows
Certified products, a supermarket premiere, a REWE pilot and an industrial system in development.
The Verdict
On the shop floor, still in pilots
MCD did what it promised: magnetic cooling went from lab to certified product and into supermarkets. The public record still shows pilots, not fleets, and the company is looking for partners and money for its next, industrial step.
MagnoTherm has not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on company statements, EU project data and German register information, linked throughout.
