SURVEY
Will U.S. tariffs affect the PCM market?
Please participate in the Phase Change Matters Newsletter’s first industry survey. We want to know whether you think U.S. global tariffs — and countermeasures — could affect the development and sales of phase change materials (PCM). Please complete this short, anonymous survey and share it widely with others in the PCM community. Findings will be included in the next newsletter.
PRODUCT LAUNCH
On March 25, PURE announced the launch of PuREPower, a line of energy storage products that utilize nano-particle-based PCM to dramatically enhance thermal conductivity for residential, commercial and utility-scale needs.
PURE founder and Managing Director Nishanth Dongari said the PuREPower line can help India’s transition to clean energy. “PuREPower is more than an energy storage product; it’s a commitment to India’s decarbonization goals. By empowering homes, businesses, and the grid with cutting-edge battery technology and power electronics, PURE is enabling the country to reduce its carbon footprint,” he said.
PuREPower’s rollout as “a unified vision for reliable, sustainable, and efficient energy storage” was a long time in the making, Dongari said. It was the result of eight years of research and more than 1,000 pilot installations in homes and commercial and industrial sites in India.
According to PURE, the heart of PuREPower’s reliability is its thermal management system that incorporates nano-PCM cooling at the cell level and liquid cooling at the pack and rack level, guaranteeing efficient heat dissipation, extended lifespan, superior round-trip efficiencies, and safety. PuREPower uses nano-particles such as carbon nanotubes, graphene, or metal oxides within the PCM matrix, which enables the PCM to overcome the low thermal conductivity of some traditional PCMs.
All PuREPower products come with high-energy-density batteries, hybrid solar charge control, a power condition system (PCS), fifth-generation power electronics, and a cloud and predictive AI platform. This combination ensures seamless remote monitoring, near-100 percent uptime, and minimized disruptions. In addition, PuREPower products are designed for ease of use, with “plug-n-play” installation that any electrician can handle without specialized training.
Affordable prices and lowered energy costs make the cost of entry achievable, Dongari said. “For our home and commercial products, our costs are up to 50 percent lower than comparable products currently available in India. And while being cost-effective, we match — and often exceed — the performance and efficiencies of similar products available globally,” he said.
PuREPower Home offers four tailored variants — 3.0, 5.0, 12.0, and 20.0 — to meet the energy needs of all homeowners, no matter the size of their residence. It is designed to be easily integrated with rooftop solar systems.
PuREPower Commercial has products ranging from 30 KVA to 100 KVA, with a modular and scalable design that adapts to the evolving needs of businesses. They fit a wide range of applications including offices, retail complexes, and healthcare facilities.
PuREPower Grid delivers 5 MWH in a single container that integrates solar and a power conversion system with 1.25 MW/2.5 MW power output. It is suitable for industrial sites, utilities, renewable energy parks, and microgrids. The company claims that PuREPower Grid provides superior performance to products currently on the market, an extended lifespan, and maximum uptime, thanks to its predictive and cloud-AI integrated systems. It is scheduled to launch in 2026.
The company has plans to establish more than 300 relationships with dealers and distributors throughout India to provide technical and commercial support. The company has even more ambitious plans for the future.
“Our vision is to empower the world with clean energy products,” said Dongari. “While our products are designed and made in India, they are built for global application. We are actively engaged in discussions with potential partners across the United States, Canada, the Middle East, Europe, and Africa. We are committed to a planned and systematic approach to scaling our presence in international markets.”
FOR SALE
Microtek Laboratories selling TAP Group
Microtek Laboratories, Inc., of Dayton, Ohio, is selling its Temperature Assured Packaging (TAP) Group, said Richard Formato, director of research and development for CAVU Group, Microtek’s parent company. He said the sale could include any of the following: team, patents/intellectual property, and/or capital assets (i.e., lab space, lab equipment, manufacturing equipment). Also included are complete thermal packaging solutions.
TAP’s intellectual property includes first- and second-generation patents for UV-curable, shape-stable phase-change materials (PCMs) that are used in thermal shippers. A third-generation patent is pending. Also patent pending is a compostable brick refrigerant that has demonstrated its manufacturing feasibility, Formato said.
For inquiries about the sale, contact Formato at rformato@cavugroup.com or 1-937-429-2114 x297 (alternate: 1-508-887-0990).
ELECTRO-TES
On April 29, MGA Thermal (Tomago, Australia) unveiled its Electro-Thermal Energy Storage (ETES) system at a demonstration plant in Tomago, Australia, touting its potential to abate 30 million metric tons of CO2 by 2030.
“Our now-operational demonstration plant isn’t just a concept – it’s a commercially viable solution ready for deployment,” said MGA Thermal CEO Mark Croudace. The company says ETES is more space efficient, reliable, energy efficient and affordable than sensible heat storage.
The demonstration unit is made up of approximately 3,700 of MGA Thermal’s miscibility gap alloy (MGA) blocks that release latent heat when they undergo a material phase change. The demonstration unit is compact — 12m long, 3m wide, and 4m tall — yet it stores 5 MWh of energy with a 500kW thermal dispatch power that provides continuous superheated steam for 24 hours — enough energy to power more than 270 homes.
“Our unique ETES solution efficiently captures and stores surplus renewable energy in a specially designed material, releasing it as high-temperature steam on demand,” said Erich Kisi, executive chair, chief scientist, and co-founder at MGA Thermal. “Our systems react in milliseconds, seamlessly absorbing and deploying energy and therefore at a large scale can participate in grid and energy market stabilisation. This marks a pivotal moment in the journey to decarbonise industries with high and continuous heat requirements.”
IN BRIEF
• Cold Chain Technologies (CCT) launched Tower Elite, a reusable universal temperature-controlled pallet shipper, at LogiPharma 2025 in Lyons, France, in April. “The CCT Tower Elite represents the culmination of our commitment to providing flexible, reliable, and sustainable solutions for the global pharmaceutical supply chain. We’re proud to offer our customers a solution that not only meets but exceeds industry expectations, ensuring safe transport of temperature-sensitive products on a global scale,” said CCT CEO Ranjeet Banerjee. CCT’s Tower Elite has a capacity of 1600L, is a quarter of the size of a PMC pallet, can be used with European and U.S. pallets, and maintains precise temperature control across four ranges — -60°C, -20°C, +5°C, and +20°C — for more than 120 hours by using different PCM plates or dry ice. The Internet of Things (IoT) system provides real-time temperature monitoring, live tracking, and asset management.
• On April 10, Cartesian (Trondheim, Norway) was awarded the first Nordic Innovation Award for its thermal box that uses PCM to store energy and reduce CO2 emissions. The patent offices of Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway established the award this year to highlight sustainable solutions. “Cartesian demonstrates what is achievable when research and industry collaborate on concrete challenges,” said Petter Røkke, research director at SINTEF Energy. “This technology provides a new and efficient way of storing energy, making the energy system more flexible and robust. These are exactly the types of solutions we need for a successful energy transition.” Alexis Sevault, founder and CTO of Cartesian, accepted the award at a ceremony in Copenhagen on April 10.
• Hungary’s Ministry of Energy funded a prototype, which transports heat with mobile storage. The pilot project is bringing residual heat from the Thermofoam Ltd. packaging products plant in Felsőpakony to a local kindergarten by way of a truck. Three companies were involved in the project: Thermofoam, HeatVentors, and IMSYS. Attila Imre, professor of energy engineering at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, said there are already orders for the technology, but “the production capacity still needs to be built up and tested before serial production can start, so it will take at least 2-3 years before this all can become a market product.”
• In April, Rubitherm announced the release of the latest generation of the Spitzner Therm Warmpack, which uses its bound PCM technology for maximum efficiency and comfort. Called PX, the ecological carrier matrix is combined with the selected PCM, resulting in an absolutely dry powder with a free-flowing character. That means that above and below the phase change temperature, the storage material retains heat effectively without volume expansion.
• Project FENRIR is a student-led space project from Luleå University of Technology in Kiruna, Sweden. The project aims to create a free-fall unit (FFU) to eject two scientific payloads: an attitude stabilisation system (ATSS) and a PCM experiment. The project thanked Rubitherm Technologies GmbH(Berlin, Germany) for providing vital PCM. “We are delighted to have played a part in the success of the Project FENRIR,” Rubitherm responded. “It is great to support the development of the innovative Free-Falling Unit (FFU), contributing with our #PCMs to help make the mission possible. Congratulations to the team on a successful ejection from the REXUS34 sounding rocket!”
• On April 28, the Global Warming Mitigation Project named the finalists for the Keeling Curve Prize 2025 in the energy category, which is about decarbonizing energy, supporting zero-carbon energy innovations and leading the way for low- and zero-emissions energy systems worldwide. The four finalists are: Kraftblock (Sulzbach, Germany), BladeRunner Energy (Bend, Oregon), Gham Power (Kathmandu, Nepal), and Arculus Solutions (North Bethesda, Maryland). Winners will be announced in July and awarded $50,000.
• Envirotainer (Stockholm, Sweden) released its 2024 sustainability report, touting significant steps such as its reduction in scope 3 emissions by 12 percent and maintenance of 100 percent renewable electricity at its production site for over a decade and 92 percent companywide. “One key initiative in our approach to sustainability is our strategic integration with va-Q-tec, meaning we can offer our customers the best-in-class solutions from active and advance passive cooling technologies,” Envirotainer CEO David Simonsson said.
• Pluss Advanced Technologies, Ltd. (Gurugram, India) welcomed Daniel Hutton to head marketing strategy and sales leadership for North America. “Exciting times ahead as we expand our footprint — and we’re confident that with Daniel on board, we’re set to make a lasting mark in North America,” Pluss reported on LinkedIn. Hutton can be reached at Daniel.hutton@pluss.us.com.
• There is still time to sign up for the “Unlocking the Scalability of Modular Thermal Energy Storage (TES)” webinar from
10-11:30 a.m. Central European Summer Time on May 20. HYSTORE PROJECT EU is combining forces with TES Cluster — ECHO EUproject, BEST-Storage, ThumbsUp — and in collaboration with the European Heat Pump Association (EHPA) to host a webinar exploring the vital role of Modular TES in decarbonising heat and integrating renewable energy.
• Martin Schichtel, CEO of Kraftblock (Sulzbach, Germany), is one of the speakers at Decarb TechInvest Europe June 18 and 19 in London. The event promises to convene more than 180 of the most significant investors, tech disruptors and other strategic partners focused on industrial decarbonization to “facilitate investments across the full capital stack to de-risk, scale and exit essential hardtech and startups at Series B+ and FOAK phase, to accelerate the commercialisation of breakthrough technologies.”
JOBS
• Pluss Advanced Technologies B.V., ’s-Hertogenbosch, North Brabant, Netherlands, has an opening for a research and development scientist. According to the job description, the scientist must be “capable of leading material development initiatives, contributing to the establishment of technical and analytical laboratory infrastructure, and providing technical direction across interdisciplinary teams, all while demonstrating strong technical expertise, project leadership skills, and a proactive mindset.”
• Pluss Advanced Technologies B.V., Enschede, Overijssel, Netherlands, has an opening for a product development engineer. According to the job description, the engineer will “design, synthesize, and optimize thermal energy storage materials, focusing on thermophysical behavior, heat transfer mechanisms, and thermal and chemical stability. You will advance solid-liquid phase change composites, enhance thermal conductivity, and improve long-term material reliability for applications in food and pharma logistics, as well as buildings.”
PATENTS
Container and method for preserving or transporting biological materials
U.S. patent application 20250136349 (applicant United Therapeutics Corp., Silver Spring, Maryland):
“A container for transporting or preserving a biological material includes a bag member that includes a first layer having a peripheral edge and a second layer having a peripheral edge. The peripheral edge of the first layer is adjoined to the peripheral edge of the second layer around a circumference, with a phase change material between the first layer and the second layer. The bag member may further include a sealed first end and an opening defined in a second end. The bag member is configured to receive and hold the biological material.”
Portable air conditioner using an array of phase change materials
U.S. patent application 20250109883 (applicant Jon Y. Nakagawa, Piedmont, California):
“A portable air conditioner using an array of phase change materials (PCMs) includes a housing having a detachable top lid. A compressor cools in the housing cools refrigerant and circulates it through a radiator. An array of removable PCMs is mounted between the radiator and fans on the front panel of the housing. Activation of the fans pulls cooled air through the radiator and through the PCMs further cooling the air. The PCMs can be replaced and needed with newly preconditioned PCMs.”
Fuel cell thermal energy storage in phase-change material
U.S. patent application 20250125383 (applicant ZeroAvia Ltd., Cirencester, England):
“A cooling system for a fuel-cell system onboard a vehicle such as an aircraft in one embodiment employs the latent heat of evaporation of a two-phase coolant to reduce mass and parasitic power requirements of the cooling system. In another embodiment the cooling system has a primary ambient air heat exchanger coolant loop for cooling the fuel-cell system, and a secondary coolant loop comprising a fluid circuit configured to circulate a coolant in thermal contact with a phase-change material (PCM) in thermal contact with the fuel-cell to absorb heat from the fuel-cell. The secondary coolant loop includes a heat pump for cooling the PCM.”
Hybrid systems and methods for managing thermal energy
U.S. patent application 20250129995 (applicant Phasestor, LLC, Asheboro, North Carolina):
“In one aspect, thermal energy storage systems are described herein. In some embodiments, such a system includes at least one active thermal storage battery and at least one passive thermal storage battery. The at least one active thermal storage battery includes a container, a heat exchanger disposed within the container, and a first phase change material disposed within the container and in thermal contact with the heat exchanger. The at least one passive thermal storage battery comprises a plurality of thermal storage cells, individual thermal storage cells comprising a container having an interior volume, and a second phase change material disposed within the interior volume of the container.”
More U.S. patent applications:
Cooling system fopr charging inlet assembly for electric vehicle (TE Connectivity Solutions GmbH, Schaffhausen, Switzerland.) | Thermal storage absorption refrigeration unit (Quanling Wang and Miaohong Wang, Qinhuangdao, China.) | Multifunctional materials for combined electrochemical and thermal energy storage (UT-Battelle, LLC, Oak Ridge, Tennessee.) | Phase-change temperature-reducing polyurethane composite material, and preparation method and application thereof (Thermalysis New Material Technology Co., Ltd., Shenzhen, China.) | Endothermic phase-change material coated separators for batteries (Ford Global Technologies, Dearborn, Michigan.) | Transport container for transporting temperature-sensitive goods to be transported, said container comprising container walls (REP IP AG, Zug, Switzerland.)| Rechargeable thermal battery systems for use in transporting or storing perishable items (Phasestor, LLC, Asheboro, North Carolina.) | Production of fabric with enhanced thermoregulation properties (HyperNatural Corp., Elm Grove, Wisconsin.) | Foam blend incorporating phase hcange material and method for making foamed shoe body using the same (Feng Tay Enterprises Co., Yunlin County, Taiwan.)
RESEARCH ROUNDUP
From Journal of Energy Storage:
• Valorization of waste biomass derived activated carbon @expanded graphite for intensification of thermal characteristics of RT24 phase change material through shape-stabilization
• Multifunctional phase-change materials with Ni-MOF/MXene hierarchical network for thermal energy storage, photothermal conversion, and excellent electromagnetic shielding
• Study on thermal storage performance and heat transfer blind area of multi-tube phase change heat storage tank
• Enhancing solar thermal energy storage efficiency to 90 % with novel phase change materials PbSO4-NaNO3-NaCl/natural stones
From Renewable Energy:
From Thermal Advances:
From Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells:
• Photo- and magneto-responsive highly CNTs@Fe3O4 Glauber’s salt based phase change composites for energy conversion and storage
• Enhancing composite phase change material thermal performance by tuning phase change materials properties with nanoparticles
From Applied Thermal Engineering:
• Employing sugar alcohol-based phase change material for integrated compact thermal battery (ICTB): experimental exploration for future configuration of modern space heating with thermal storage
• Development of sodium acetate trihydrate-based composite phase change materials with expanded graphite for nonflammable thermal stabilization and isothermal performance in battery modules
• High thermal conductivity Zn2+ metal–organic framework based composite phase change materials for battery thermal management
From Construction and Building Materials:
From Energy:
From Solar Energy:
From Chemical Engineering Journal:
From International Journal of Biological Macromolecules:
From Royal Society of Chemistry:
From Energy Conversion and Management: X:
From Thermal Science and Engineering Progress:
From Polymer Testing:
From Advanced Powder Technology:
From Surfaces and Interfaces:
From Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects:
NETWORKING
Connect with PCM experts and industry leaders on LinkedIn
More than 1,800 people have joined a LinkedIn group devoted to the discussion of phase change material and thermal energy storage. You are invited to join the Phase Change Matters group and connect with PCM and TES experts from around the world.
This month we welcome Jonas N. Utvik, head of sales for Cartesian, Trondheim, Norway; Şekip Hayıt, denim washing technical manager, of RESAS CHEMIE, Istanbul, Turkey; Karthy LC International, founder of LC International, Karur, India; Daniel Hutton, head of marketing strategy and sales leadership for North America for Pluss Advanced Technologies Ltd., Gurugram, India; and Julie Lebrun, sales manager of Temprecision International, Darlington, England .
NEWS TIPS
Does your company, agency or university have a job opening, new research, new product or other news you’d like to share? I would love to hear from you. Please contact newsletter editor Amy Phillips at phasechangematters@gmail.com.
A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR
This newsletter is made possible through the generous support of the RAL Quality Association PCM and the members listed below. To learn more about the association, including membership benefits, please contact Stefan Thomann, executive director, at pcm@kellencompany.com.
Axiotherm GmbH | B Medical Systems | Croda International Plc. | ISU Chemical Co. Ltd. | RuhrTech | Microtek Laboratories | PCM Technology | PLUSS Advanced Technologies | PureTemp LLC | Rubitherm Technologies GmbH | Sasol Germany GmbH | S.Lab Asia Inc. | Sunamp Ltd. | va-Q-tec AG