Pascal raises $8.5 million for sponge-based heat pump technology

Pascal, a startup developing cooling technology, has raised $8.5 million in a follow-on to its seed round. The round was co-led by Sazze Partners and LB Investment, with participation from KDB Silicon Valley, the company told TechCrunch.

Pascal co-founder and CEO Adam Slavney said the company’s material could make refrigerators and heat pumps around 20% more efficient than existing models. Pascal compresses carbon dioxide into a cartridge containing a proprietary, sponge-like material. As the gas enters the material’s pores, collisions with their walls warm the material; a radiator then releases some of that heat. Reversing the process lets the material absorb heat and transfer it to the carbon dioxide.

In a refrigerator, two cartridges work at once: one draws heat from inside and the other transfers heat to the outside air. Their roles switch as they become too hot or too cold. Slavney said the material has been cycled up to 300,000 times, which he described as equivalent to about a year of operation.

The company has signed a pilot contract with a multinational beverage company. Pascal expects to deliver its first prototype early next year, followed by its first batch of more polished refrigerators in 2028. The approach uses solid-state refrigerant material, which cannot escape into the atmosphere, while carbon dioxide carries heat through the system.