An award-winning research project from the University of Malta is being incorporated as a commercial entity to immediately bring its innovative electronics cooling solution to market. The move, made possible with instrumental help from the University's Knowledge Transfer Office, will see the team form one of the first commercial spinoffs from the university. With the backing of various other investors, the new company, ICECAP Systems, is poised to begin sales and operations marking a direct transition from research to retail.
The small team behind the award-winning system has been developing it at the University of Malta since early 2020. Their four-year journey was described as a “whirlwind” by principal investigator Andre Micallef, who forms the team behind ICECAP alongside Prof. Inġ. Marc Anthony Azzopardi, Alec Fenech, Thomas Galea, and Gareth Blundell.
The last year has been pivotal for the project. In November, the team achieved at electronica Fair in Munich, the world’s leading electronics conference. Competing against a host of cutting-edge innovators, they presented the Aristat Controller, a compact, intelligent hub that packs years of their ICECAP research into a disruptive, easy-to-use package. This focus on creating a commercially viable product from the outset has resulted in a polished solution ready for immediate market entry....a rare achievement for a project rooted in academic research. The achievement netted them a €10,000 prize and significant interest from major industry partners.
Mere days later, their work was recognised on home ground, securing first place for Scientific Initiative at the Malta Intellectual Property awards.
Their intelligent cooling system seamlessly blends Peltier modules, a 200-year-old invention, with newly patented software and insulation systems. The end product drastically improves upon traditional systems in effectiveness, efficiency and precision.
The starting point for the ICECAP cooling system is a palm-sized, square tile known as a Peltier module. The module pumps heat from one face to another when electrically powered, cooling anything it is placed against with no moving parts. While stacking multiple modules can improve the technology’s cooling potential, it only worsens its Achilles’ heel: efficiency.
The long-established downside to traditional Peltier cooling blocks lies in the relatively large amount of energy needed to maintain their effectiveness. The additional complications this requirement brings prevents traditional systems from being a feasible option for many applications.
The Maltese team’s innovation lies in their use of an intelligent software algorithm which constantly monitors temperatures and adjusts power usage to regulate and massively improve efficiency. The team’s second breakthrough innovation, an advanced insulation system specifically developed for Peltier cooling stacks, enables them to maximise the effectiveness of their work.
Both innovations were recently patented with the United States Patent Office and the World Intellectual Property Organization, securing them in the Maltese team’s hands.
The ICECAP technology has already proven its real-world value. It is used in MEMENTO, a high-speed video camera developed in-house, to keep its image processors cool and reliable. Furthermore, a medical transportation device using ICECAP to maintain precise temperatures for vaccines was successfully tested during the Coronavirus pandemic and is under active development.
These successes highlight the system’s vast potential, from heavy-duty industrial uses like laser cooling and chip manufacturing to life-sciences applications in diagnostics and lab equipment.
The project’s development has been powered by €200,000 in funding from the Malta Council for Science and Technology and €100,000 from Xjenza Malta’s GLACIER go-to-market programme, helping it achieve Technology Readiness Level 8 (TRL8).
As ICECAP Systems transitions into a commercial entity, the team is entering a public testing phase and delivering its first product samples.
Interested partners or initial clients who are eager to learn more can visit ICECAP’s labs in one-to-one meetings or contact the team by visiting the .
