Cooling is essential for daily life, enabling the air conditioning of buildings and the safe storage and transport of food and medicine. However, current cooling technologies heavily rely on hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) gaseous refrigerants – potent greenhouse gases responsible for 3% of planetary warming. Researchers from Jarad Mason’s lab have developed novel solid materials that produce large barocaloric effects at low pressure with zero net emissions to replace conventional volatile refrigerants. The lab is working to demonstrate the commercial viability of their prototype, and a startup is spinning out and seeking funding and relevant industry partners.