A Cambridge startup is betting on plastic crystals to transform refrigeration by replacing gases with solid materials that change temperature under pressure, in a technology still under development and initially aimed at commercial systems. A startup affiliated with the University of Cambridge is working on a refrigeration technology that exchanges gases for solid materials capable […]
The only hint in the article is that it’s going to be an organic substance as a plastic crystal. Their website claims that it’s a powder whose elemental composition is exclusively carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. The difficult and expensive materials are likely to be limited to synthesis equipment and catalysts, with petrochemicals used to synthesize the actual refrigerant.