Barocal raises $10M to disrupt century-old cooling industry with breakthrough materials technology

• Following 15+ years of research on calorics materials by its founder, Barocal has patented solid-state cooling and heating platform technology designed to replace century-old vapour-compression systems at cost parity – all while reducing emissions.
• The technology targets the ~$450bn global heating and cooling market, addressing the rapidly growing demand for cooling in data centres.
• The Cambridge University spin-out, founded in 2019 by leading materials researcher Prof. Xavier Moya, has raised $10M (€8.6M) from World Fund, Breakthrough Energy Discovery, Cambridge Enterprise Ventures and IP Group to make key hires and accelerate commercialisation.
  
  

CAMBRIDGE, United Kingdom, May 04, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Barocal, the Cambridge University spin-out commercialising efficient, refrigerant-gas-free cooling and heating technology, has raised a $10 million seed round to accelerate development and scale its engineering team ahead of commercial deployment.

Barocal is commercialising a much-needed solution at the perfect time. The company will initially target fast-growing applications, including data centre cooling and commercial refrigeration, tapping into a ~$450 billion global HVAC market that is expected to surge to ~$577 billion by 2033. At scale, Barocal’s technology will significantly reduce heating and cooling sector emissions through efficiency gains and avoiding gas refrigerants. The sector is responsible for around 15% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions – a far higher proportion than the aviation sector, yet receiving far less attention. Cooling alone accounted for more than 4 Gt of CO₂e in 2022, and demand is expected to triple by 2050.

Professor Xavier Moya, a leading expert in caloric materials and systems, founded Barocal in 2019 to commercialise a scientific breakthrough from his Royal Society/European Research Council-funded research. While many caloric materials are limited by costs, degradation, or fatigue, he discovered a way to demonstrate unprecedented performance in barocaloric materials - hence the company’s name. Barocaloric materials use pressure-driven phase transitions to generate large temperature changes. Based on this discovery, his team developed and patented a heating and cooling platform technology. It is designed to be more efficient and less expensive than traditional vapour-compression systems that rely on climate-damaging gas refrigerants to power today’s air conditioning units.

Barocal has already won major accolades, including the $1 million 2025 TERA-Award. The team will use the new funding to scale operations and recruit senior technical and commercial talent to accelerate system development.

Prof. Xavier Moya, Founder of Barocal, said: “Heating and cooling have always been the elephant in the room when it comes to emissions, and ours is a set of materials that could change history. We are building something truly revolutionary. The world can only hit a 1.5 degree target if we cut emissions by around half – solving heating and cooling emissions would achieve that goal. I am thrilled to be partnering with investors who will support us to commercialise and scale our technology before the planet runs out of time.”

Mark Windeknecht, Principal at World Fund, said: “Barocal has achieved what scientists have struggled to do for decades – a materials breakthrough delivering solid-state materials that finally enable new cooling and heating platform technology that competes with vapour-based incumbents. We are extremely proud to be supporting this world-leading scientific team as they commercialise.”

Ashley Grosh, Head of Breakthrough Energy Discovery, said: “Buildings account for roughly 7% of global emissions, and decarbonising heating and cooling is essential to address that impact. We first supported Barocal through the Breakthrough Energy Fellows program, where Professor Moya’s rigorous, years-long research into caloric materials stood out for its technical depth and commercial potential. This most recent investment reflects our continued confidence in the team as they scale a solid-state alternative to vapour compression that is cleaner, more efficient and fundamentally rethinks how we deliver comfort.”

Dr Lee Thornton, Partner, Deeptech, IP Group plc, said: “IP Group is proud to back Barocal’s latest round with a £2m investment, which will enable the company to reach its next milestones as it scales up to commercial reality. Barocal’s innovation promises massive efficiency gains in heat transfer systems for data centres, refrigeration, and home cooling, which will result in material reductions in energy and climate impacts. This is the classic type of transformational company we back at IP Group.”

For media enquiries: Veronica Fresneau, Communications Director, World Fund, veronica@worldfund.vc

About Barocal:
Barocal Ltd is a Cambridge-based deep climate technology company developing next-generation solid-state cooling and heating systems. A spin-out from the University of Cambridge, Barocal replaces conventional refrigerant gases with innovative organic barocaloric materials that heat and cool under pressure, eliminating high-global-warming refrigerants and improving energy efficiency. Backed by leading climate investors, Barocal is on a mission to transform how the world cools and heats - reducing emissions, cutting energy demand, and enabling more sustainable thermal management across buildings, industry, and data centres.

About World Fund:
World Fund is a leading European venture capital fund investing in climate tech companies with significant decarbonisation potential. Its portfolio spans key sectors, including energy, industry, the built environment, transportation, food, agriculture, and biotech. The fund has backed prominent companies such as cylib, Vaeridion, Planet A Foods, IQM and Space Forge. The firm manages a €300m fund and focuses on bridging the financing gap in the early growth stage.

About Breakthrough Energy Discovery:
Breakthrough Energy Discovery is the pre-venture innovation arm of Breakthrough Energy, focusing on advancing emerging climate technologies at the earliest stages. Through its three core programs - Workshops, Ecosystem Grants, and the global Fellows program - BE Discovery provides philanthropic funding, tailored support, and connections to help innovators turn bold ideas into scalable solutions.

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