Solid refrigerant firm receives $8.5m funding
23rd October 2026
USA: Pascal, a developer of barocaloric solid refrigerant technology, has raised additional funding of $8.5m to support the technology’s initial deployments with a multinational beverage manufacturer.
Originally launched out of Harvard University, Pascal is using a novel class of solid barocaloric refrigerants based on metal-halide perovskites.
In essence, barocaloric materials work similarly to traditional gas-liquid cooling systems, using pressure changes to go through heat cycles, but in this case, the pressure drives a solid-to-solid phase change.
These solid refrigerants are non-flammable, PFAS-free and are said to achieve cost parity with conventional systems. They operate in the same pressure range as typical gas refrigerants and can be used across a range of HVAC applications.
Pascal recently completed a working prototype of its pilot refrigerator and is preparing to deploy the system at a leading, multinational beverage manufacturer. The company expects this initial deployment to validate energy-efficiency and cost improvements, and progress to the next phase of the project in early 2027.
Pascal’s current commercial work is focused on beverage cooling applications, however the company maintains that its solid refrigerant technology can scale up to offer cooling solutions for large buildings, including data centres.
The new venture funding was co-led by Sazze Partners and LB Investment, with KDB Silicon Valley also participating. Pascal has also secured $839,000 in grant funding, including a $500,000 ARPA-E grant from the US Department of Energy, and $239,000 InnovateMass and $100,000 Climatetech tax incentives programme grants from Mass Clean Energy Center, bringing its total funding to date to $17.3m.
“We’ve now proved that solid refrigerant systems are just as efficient as a conventional vapour-compression system doing the same job and are expecting further improvements in the near future,” said Adam Slavney, co-founder and CEO of Pascal.
“With this new funding, we gain the resources to bring Pascal’s cooling technology to more commercial partners seeking lower costs, higher efficiency and reduced emissions. This is the next step in turning years of technology development into a product that can scale.”
In addition to its funding and initial customer deployment, last month Pascal opened a new headquarters in Watertown, Massachusetts. The 21,000ft2 (1,950m2) facility will expand the company’s engineering, prototyping and testing capabilities.
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