Heat pump tech is 170 years old. Pascal thinks it’s time for an update.
Startup Pascal has raised $8.5 million in funding after testing a new class of materials that could make heat pumps and refrigerators 20% more efficient. The company plans to deliver its first prototype early next year and consumer refrigerators by 2028.
Why it matters
Improving heat pump and cooling efficiency is crucial for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and lowering energy consumption globally.
When the experimental results came back, they puzzled Adam Slavney. He had been testing a new class of materials for more efficient refrigerators, air conditioners, and heat pumps , a mission that the cooling appliance industry has been on for eons. The measurements for the materials that Slavney was testing shouldn’t have been different, but they were.
“Why are these things different? What did we change?” he told TechCrunch. “We had an inkling of it in within three-ish months, but we didn’t have definitive proof for a year or two.”
That proof is now underpinning Slavney’s startup, Pascal , where he’s co-founder and CEO. The company recently raised $8.5 million in a follow-on to its seed round, co-led by Sazze Partners and LB Investment with participation from KDB Silicon Valley, the company exclusively told TechCrunch.
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