In 2019, global greenhouse gas emissions from refrigeration systems equalled the entire EU’s emissions. Achieving long-term sustainability requires energy efficiency improvements, with even small gains offering significant returns.

The barocaloric effect, which involves temperature changes induced by pressure, is a promising technology for cooling systems, using highly efficient, abundant and inexpensive materials. Recent studies highlight significant barocaloric effects near Spin CrossOver (SCO) transition temperatures for certain molecular complexes. The FROSTBIT project aims to develop the first solid-state barocaloric refrigerator using regeneration and SCO compounds as refrigerants. Specific objectives include the design of sustainable synthesis methods for barocaloric compounds, the optimization of SCO materials to improve thermomechanical properties, and the construction of components for a barocaloric regenerative cooling system. The initial objective is to create a refrigerator with 100 W cooling power at room temperature, a 20 K temperature span, and a target COP of 4 to 6, achieving 30% of Carnot efficiency.

Frostbit belongs to a Portfolio of EIC-awarded Projects on Clean and Efficient Cooling. For more details on the Portfolio, visit https://eic-cooling.eu/