Samsung-Johns Hopkins project wins 2025 R&D 100 Awards

Samsung Electronics' high-efficiency Peltier refrigerator / Courtesy of Samsung Electronics

A joint research project between Samsung Electronics and Johns Hopkins University on next-generation refrigeration technology has won the 2025 R&D 100 Awards, one of the world’s most renowned awards for innovative engineering technologies.

Samsung Electronics said Sunday the research, conducted by Samsung Research and Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), was selected as one of the 100 Top Innovations in the 2025 R&D 100 Awards organized by R&D World Magazine.

Established in 1963, the R&D 100 Awards honor the 100 most innovative technologies each year that contribute to advancements in science and technology.

The team won the honor with its research on “Scalable, Energy Efficient CHESS Thin‑Film Thermoelectric Refrigerator.”

CHESS thin films are nano-engineered materials developed by Johns Hopkins APL that leverage the Peltier effect to deliver an eco-friendly, nonchemical cooling method without refrigerants, enabling faster and more precise temperature control.

The award committee cited the achievement as the world’s first development of a high-performance thin-film Peltier semiconductor device using nanotechnology and using it to successfully demonstrate a high-performance Peltier refrigerator.

Peltier cooling technology is drawing attention for its potential applications across a wide range of areas, including home appliances, semiconductors, medical devices, automotive electronics and data centers.

The team also introduced a new thin-film semiconductor deposition process, improving cooling efficiency by about 75 percent compared with conventional refrigerants. It also achieved miniaturization and weight reduction of the refrigerator.

A paper describing the nano-engineered thin-film technology was published in Nature Communications in May, under the title “Nano-engineered Thin-film Thermoelectric Materials Enable Practical Solid-State Refrigeration.”

“It is a great honor to win the prestigious R&D 100 Awards, which evaluates scientific technologies with commercial potential,” said Lee Joon-hyun, executive vice president of Samsung Research’s Life Solution Team. “It is especially meaningful that our next-generation Peltier cooling technology has been recognized for both its innovation and practicality.”