Barocal

Barocal is a University of Cambridge spin-out developing solid-state cooling and heating systems that replace conventional refrigerant gases with organic barocaloric materials. The materials, related to an organic compound used widely in industries from plastics to paints, contain molecules that normally rotate freely; applying pressure halts that rotation and causes the material to release heat, while removing pressure allows the material to absorb heat. Barocal uses these pressure-driven phase transitions to pump heat, circulating water past the material and out to a radiator to move heat, for example from the inside of a refrigerator to the outside.

Because the working material is a solid, the systems avoid the leakage of ozone-depleting or high-global-warming-potential gaseous refrigerants associated with vapour compression; such refrigerants can warm the climate more than 1,000 times as much as an equivalent quantity of carbon dioxide. The company states its patented platform is designed to be more efficient and less expensive than vapour-compression systems and to reach cost parity with them. Early prototypes are reported to be as effective as existing refrigerator compressors while promising significantly lower energy use.

The company employs roughly 10 people and is headquartered in Cambridge, United Kingdom. Following its 2026 Seed round it is scaling operations and recruiting senior technical and commercial staff ahead of commercial deployment.

Founding story

Founder Xavier Moya, a professor of materials physics at the University of Cambridge, traces his interest in heating and cooling to his youth in Spain, where he studied in a small, hot room before the household acquired air conditioning. His academic work on refrigerants led him to focus on solid materials that capture and release heat when squeezed and stretched — a principle he illustrates with a balloon that warms when stretched and cools when released. His discovery of a route to high performance in barocaloric materials gave the company, founded in 2019, its name and technology base.

Business model

Barocal is a business-to-business deep-tech company commercialising a patented solid-state heating and cooling platform based on barocaloric materials, intended as a drop-in alternative to vapour-compression equipment for equipment operators and manufacturers. It is pre-commercial, working from early prototypes toward commercial deployment, and is funded by venture and institutional investors.

Traction

Barocal reports early prototypes that match the effectiveness of existing refrigerator compressors while promising lower energy consumption. The company has about 10 employees and raised a $10 million Seed round in May 2026; it was earlier supported through the Breakthrough Energy Fellows program.

Latest developments

In May 2026 Barocal announced a $10 million (€8.5 million) Seed round led by World Fund, with Breakthrough Energy Discovery, Cambridge Enterprise Ventures and IP Group participating. Proceeds are earmarked for commercialisation of the solid-state platform, scaling the engineering team and hiring senior technical and commercial talent.