A British startup has developed a cooling technology using plastic crystals that may replace conventional refrigeration. Barocal, based in Cambridge, claims its system can cool food and drinks without harmful refrigerants and at lower energy costs. The company has built a working prototype that demonstrates the concept in household refrigerators and industrial cooling units.
The technology relies on barocaloric materials, a class of plastic crystals that heat up when compressed and cool down when decompressed. Barocal’s version uses neopentyl glycol, a common industrial chemical, shaped into porous pellets. When these pellets are squeezed inside a sealed chamber, they release heat. Removing the pressure reverses the effect, absorbing heat and creating a cooling effect. The process works at room temperature and does not require ozone-depleting gases like hydrofluorocarbons.
Barocal’s prototype refrigerator operates at 20% lower energy consumption compared to a standard compressor-based unit of the same size. The company tested its system in a 100-liter fridge for six months. During that period, it maintained an internal temperature of 4°C with a daily energy use of 0.35 kilowatt-hours, compared to 0.45 kilowatt-hours for a conventional model. The startup has filed four patents for the material composition and mechanical design.
Industry analysts say the technology could disrupt the $60 billion global cooling market. Traditional refrigeration relies on vapor compression cycles that consume about 20% of global electricity and contribute 7% of greenhouse gas emissions. Barocal’s approach avoids high-pressure refrigerant gases and uses mechanical motion instead, which is easier to recycle and dispose of. The company plans to license the technology to manufacturers rather than produce its own appliances.
Barocal is not the only player in solid-state cooling. Other startups like Blue Frontier and SkyCool Systems are developing alternative cooling methods using water-based systems or radiative cooling films. However, Barocal’s plastic crystal method is one of the few that has demonstrated continuous operation in a real-world appliance. The company received £2.5 million in grants from Innovate UK and Horizon Europe to advance its research.
The next step is scaling production. Barocal aims to partner with appliance makers in Europe and Asia by 2025. It forecasts that its technology could cut cooling-related carbon emissions by up to 30% within a decade if widely adopted. The company is also exploring applications in data center cooling and electric vehicle battery management systems.
Source: techcrunch.com