Barocal
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Founders
About
Barocal is a University of Cambridge spin-out commercialising solid-state cooling and heating technology that replaces conventional refrigerant gases with organic barocaloric materials 12. The materials change temperature in response to applied pressure, eliminating high-global-warming refrigerants and offering significant energy-efficiency gains over vapour-compression systems 1. The company was founded in 2019 by Xavier Moya, Professor of Materials Physics at the University of Cambridge 13.
The company’s initial commercial focus is on data-centre cooling and commercial refrigeration, segments of a global HVAC market valued at roughly $450 billion in 2026 and projected to reach roughly $577 billion by 2033 12. Heating and cooling are responsible for an estimated 15% of annual global greenhouse-gas emissions, with cooling alone accounting for more than 4 Gt of CO₂e in 2022 1.
Funding History
| Date | Round | Amount | Lead | Co-investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-05-04 | Seed | €8.5M (~$10M) | World Fund | Breakthrough Energy Discovery, Cambridge Enterprise Ventures, IP Group 123 |
What Investors Say
Mark Windeknecht, Principal at World Fund: “Barocal has achieved what scientists have struggled to do for decades — a materials breakthrough delivering solid-state materials” 1.
Ashley Grosh, Breakthrough Energy Discovery: “Decarbonising heating and cooling is essential to address that impact. This investment reflects our continued confidence in the team” 1.
Dr Lee Thornton, IP Group: “Barocal’s innovation promises massive efficiency gains in heat transfer systems” 1.
What Founders Say
Xavier Moya on the climate stakes of cooling: “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” 1.
Moya on the origins of the work: “I’ve always been very interested in technologies for heating and cooling” 3.
Sources
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GlobeNewswire, “Barocal raises $10M to disrupt century-old cooling industry with breakthrough materials technology,” May 4, 2026. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/05/04/3286855/0/en/barocal-raises-10m-to-disrupt-century-old-cooling-industry-with-breakthrough-materials-technology.html↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩
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EU-Startups, “Cambridge spin-out Barocal raises €8.5 million Seed round for refrigerant-free heating and cooling tech,” May 2026. https://www.eu-startups.com/2026/05/cambridge-spin-out-barocal-raises-e8-5-million-seed-round-for-refrigerant-free-heating-and-cooling-tech/↩↩↩
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TechCrunch, “Barocal can cool your food and drink by squeezing a hunk of plastic crystals,” May 4, 2026. https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/04/barocal-can-cool-your-food-and-drink-by-squeezing-a-hunk-of-plastic-crystals/↩↩↩