NESCOD: Saudi Arabia’s Electricity-Free Cooling Technology Explained

Researchers at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia introduced NESCOD (No Electricity Sustainable Cooling On Demand), a new passive cooling technology.

This innovative system addresses the growing global need for cooling solutions without relying on electricity-intensive air conditioners.

Technically, NESCOD utilizes the thermodynamic properties of endothermic decomposition to provide an environment-friendly alternative for communities living away from electricity grids or in extremely hot regions.

It captures solar energy and stores it for later use in cooling; this is a major step in the field of environmental engineering.

It uses an endothermic chemical process—dissolving ammonium nitrate in water—to absorb heat, resulting in a significant drop in temperature without any compressor or continuous electricity.

This technology can reduce temperatures significantly; according to reported results, within 20 minutes the temperature dropped from 25°C to 3.6°C.

NESCOD, electricity-free cooling system

The NESCOD system operates through a two-stage thermodynamic cycle: dissolution cooling and solar-driven solute regeneration. In the cooling/dissolution cycle, a specific salt, ammonium nitrate, is dissolved in water.

This chemical reaction is endothermic, meaning it absorbs heat from the surrounding environment to break the ionic bonds of the salt, causing the liquid temperature to decrease rapidly.

As stated in research published by the Royal Society of Chemistry, laboratory tests demonstrated that this system can achieve a cooling capacity of up to 191 watts per square meter under standard conditions.

It uses sunlight to convert the water present in the salt solution into vapor. When the water turns into vapor, ammonium nitrate forms crystals again, essentially recharging the system for another cooling cycle.

When placed in sunlight, it continuously evaporates water at a rate of about 2.2 kilograms per square meter per hour, maintaining temperatures between 5°C and 15°C — ideal for cold-chain storage and space cooling.

Additionally, this system can also capture the generated water vapor, allowing the water to be reused with impurities of less than 1 ppm (parts per million). This feature is especially useful in dry regions where water conservation is extremely important.

Saudi Arabia

It is the fifth-largest country in Asia, the largest in the Middle East and the twelfth-largest country in the world.

It is bordered by the Red Sea to the west; Jordan, Iraq and Kuwait to the north; the Persian Gulf, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to the east; Oman to the southeast; and Yemen to the south.

In the northwest, the Gulf of Aqaba separates Saudi Arabia from Egypt and Israel. Saudi Arabia is the only country with coastlines on both the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf; most of its territory consists of arid desert, low plains, steppes (grasslands) and mountains.

Its capital and largest city is Riyadh; other major cities include Jeddah and Islam’s two holiest cities—Mecca and Medina.

Saudi Arabia was founded in 1932 by King Abdulaziz. Through several military and political campaigns that began in 1901, he united Hejaz, Najd, parts of Eastern Arabia and Southern Arabia (Asir) into a single state.