What Barocal does

Barocal is a Cambridge University spin-out founded in 2019 by Prof. Xavier Moya, developing solid-state cooling and heating technology based on barocaloric plastic-crystal 'solid refrigerant' materials that change temperature under applied pressure. The technology is the result of more than 15 years of research in the University of Cambridge's Materials Science department, with peer-reviewed publications in Nature and Science, and targets the replacement of vapour-compression refrigeration and air conditioning systems that rely on high-global-warming-potential refrigerant gases. The company's product is a single modular hardware platform that supports four application verticals: data centre cooling, industrial process cooling, commercial refrigeration, and comfort heating and cooling for residential and commercial buildings.

The Generation 2 (Gen2) barocaloric refrigerator prototype, unveiled at the Calorics 2024 conference in Cambridge, is described by the IEA as the first solid cooling system to match the performance and efficiency of comparable vapour-compression systems. Barocal claims its solid refrigerants deliver over 100x the thermal performance of conventional solids, run for millions of cycles, are PFAS-free with zero GWP, and target cost parity with incumbent technology. The company is pre-commercial and pre-revenue; its planned go-to-market combines direct B2B enterprise sales to data centre operators and commercial refrigeration buyers with an OEM-embedded model that would licence or supply the barocaloric module to HVAC and refrigeration OEMs.

As of the May 2026 $10M seed round (co-led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures and World Fund, with Cambridge Enterprise Ventures and IP Group), Barocal has raised approximately $10M in equity plus €2.45M in EIC Accelerator grant funding and a $1M TERA-Award Gold prize, and employs a small team (1-10) led by Prof. Xavier Moya (CEO and Founder), Giles Rodway (CTO) and Adrian Watson (CFO). It holds an IEA 'Race to First' recognition and a high-profile awards roster, and is pursuing geographic expansion into the US, DACH and Japanese markets through trade shows, conference participation and partner-led roadshows.

Name

Barocal

Legal name

Barocal Ltd.

Website

https://barocal.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Barocal is a Cambridge University spin-out developing barocaloric solid-state cooling and heating systems that replace vapour-compression refrigerants. The company targets data centre operators, commercial refrigeration buyers, and HVAC OEMs with a modular, PFAS-free, zero-GWP plastic-crystal platform and is pre-commercial.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Pre-commercial / no product revenue yet: Barocal is pre-revenue; raised $10M seed funding (May 2026) specifically to scale engineering team and accelerate commercial deployment, but no commercial product sales are reported. Future revenue is anticipated from selling the solid-state cooling/heating platform.
2. Future OEM/partner commercialisation: Planned go-to-market via HVAC and refrigeration OEMs and partners, which would imply potential licensing, royalty, or component/module sales revenue streams. Explicitly stated as the planned "routes to commercialisation" following the 2024 Gen2 prototype demonstration.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Barocal develops a solid-state cooling and heating platform built on barocaloric plastic-crystal materials that undergo pressure-driven phase transitions, replacing gas-based vapour-compression refrigerants. The modular platform is applied across data centre cooling, industrial process cooling, commercial refrigeration, and comfort cooling & heating. Barocal has demonstrated a Generation 2 barocaloric refrigerator prototype and is commercialising its technology in collaboration with HVAC and refrigeration OEMs and partners.

Product overview

Barocal's offering is a single unified hardware platform — the Barocal solid-state cooling and heating platform — built on barocaloric plastic crystal materials that change temperature under pressure. The platform is the core from which four distinct application solutions are derived: Data Centre Cooling, Process Cooling, Refrigeration, and Comfort Cooling & Heating. The Generation 2 (Gen2) barocaloric refrigerator prototype is the first commercial-grade reference product demonstrating the platform's viability, reportedly matching the efficiency of comparable vapour-compression systems while eliminating gaseous refrigerants and fugitive emissions. Together, the core platform, Gen2 prototype, and four application solutions target a ~$450B global HVAC market for cooling and heating.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Barocal Solid-State Cooling and Heating Platform
• Gen2 Barocaloric Refrigerator Prototype First-of-its-kind barocaloric refrigerator reference product using the Gen2 system architecture, demonstrated as a working prototype at Calorics 2024 in Cambridge. Validates the platform's ability to deliver real-world cooling without gaseous refrigerants.
• Data Centre Cooling Solution
• Process Cooling Solution
• Refrigeration Solution
• Comfort Cooling & Heating Solution

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 100x the thermal performance of conventional solids
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship award / visibility partner, industry convening partner, regional market entry partner, industry networking / diversity partner, strategic non-financial support and foundational academic partner.

• TERA-Award / Full Vision Capitalflagship award / visibility partnerGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 September 2025Barocal was named 2025 Gold Winner of the 4th TERA-Award (a global clean-energy innovation competition run by Full Vision Capital, founded by Dr. Peter Lee). Selected from 785 entries across 76 countries, Barocal received a $1M USD prize alongside visibility, networking with investors and policymakers, and a ceremony attended by more than 100 entrepreneurs, researchers, investors, and policymakers.
• VDZ – Wirtschaftsvereinigung Gebäude und Energie e.V.industry convening partnerGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 March 2025VDZ organised the Advanced Materials panel at ISH Frankfurt 2025 at which Barocal participated alongside Nanolop (phase change materials) and BlueHeart Energy (thermoacoustic heat pumps), discussing the role of advanced materials in decarbonising heating and cooling.
• Plug and Play Japanregional market entry partnerGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 February 2025Plug and Play Japan hosted a startup showcase event during Barocal's Climate First Japan Roadshow, bringing together dozens of climate and energy startups and established firms. Supported Barocal's market entry into Japan and introductions to local industrial companies, VCs, and corporate innovation teams.
• Climate First (Japan Roadshow)regional market entry partnerGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 February 2025Barocal participated in the Climate First Japan Roadshow — a three-day programme of presentations, pitch sessions, and 1:1 meetings with industrial companies, VCs and corporate innovation teams focused on high-efficiency cooling technologies. Helped open conversations on potential collaboration in data centres, commercial buildings, and manufacturing.
• International Network for Women in HVACindustry networking / diversity partnerOthers · 1 February 2025Barocal team member "Sibylla" attended a private dinner hosted by the International Network for Women in HVAC during AHR Expo 2025, engaging with female industry leaders on leadership, innovation, and the future of the HVACR sector.
• Breakthrough Energy (Fellows Programme)strategic non-financial supportStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Prof. Xavier Moya was named a 2024 Breakthrough Energy Fellow, providing Barocal with R&D support, access to commercialisation advisors, technical expertise, and direct connections to Breakthrough Energy's broader network of partners and investors as it moves towards commercial readiness.
• University of Cambridge (Materials Science)foundational academic partnerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Barocal is a University of Cambridge spin-out founded in 2019 by Prof. Xavier Moya, based on over 15 years of research at Cambridge's world-leading Materials Science department. Cambridge research continues to underpin the barocaloric materials platform and associated publications in Nature and Science.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Phononic: US-based solid-state cooling company using thermoelectric semiconductors for refrigeration and thermal management, with deployments in cold-chain and life sciences. Directly comparable to Barocal as a solid-state refrigeration platform targeting OEMs in cold chain and adjacent applications.
• Magnotherm: German deep-tech startup developing magnetocaloric solid-state cooling using rare-earth-free materials for refrigeration and air conditioning. Closely comparable to Barocal as a fellow European caloric-materials company pursuing an OEM-embedded path to replace vapour-compression systems.

Broad incumbents

• Daikin Industries: Global HVAC and refrigerant manufacturer leading low-GWP refrigerant transitions (e.g., R-32). Comparable to Barocal as both a major incumbent and a potential OEM partner under regulatory pressure to commercialise next-generation refrigerants.
• Trane Technologies: Global HVAC and refrigeration incumbent with strong commercial and data centre cooling portfolios. Comparable to Barocal as a target OEM/buyer and as the benchmark for cost-parity and reliability in the cooling market.
• Johnson Controls (York): Global building solutions incumbent with the York chiller/HVAC brand serving commercial and data centre cooling. Comparable to Barocal as a target OEM partner and competitor in commercial refrigeration channels.
• Carrier Global: One of the world's largest HVAC and refrigeration equipment manufacturers, supplying commercial cooling, transport refrigeration and data centre thermal management. Comparable to Barocal as the dominant incumbent in the cooling OEM channels Barocal aims to sell into.
• BASF / Honeywell (low-GWP refrigerant programmes): Major chemical companies commercialising HFO and low-GWP refrigerant blends as the incumbent response to refrigerant phase-down. Comparable to Barocal as alternative technological responses to the same regulatory tailwind, and potential OEM partners or competitive threats.

Emerging players

• Nanolop: European startup developing phase-change-material-based thermal storage and cooling solutions for buildings. Comparable to Barocal as an emerging climate-tech company co-presenting on the ISH Frankfurt 2025 Advanced Materials panel, targeting the same decarbonisation-of-HVAC theme.
• BlueHeart Energy: UK/Europe deep-tech startup building thermoacoustic heat pumps for low-temperature heating and cooling. Comparable to Barocal as an emerging European solid-state HVAC technology with the same decarbonisation thesis and ISH Frankfurt 2025 Advanced Materials panel co-participation.

Others

• Kelvin (formerly Tranter Heat Exchangers / Kelvin Group): Provider of industrial cooling and heat exchange solutions for data centres, district cooling and process industries. Comparable to Barocal as an adjacent thermal-management platform addressing similar end-customer cooling use cases, particularly in data centre and process cooling.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/barocal

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors10 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Barocal