Solid-state caloric cooling edges closer to replacing vapour compression

Solid-state cooling technologies that exploit magnetocaloric, elastocaloric, electrocaloric and barocaloric effects are emerging as alternatives to conventional refrigeration, with the potential to eliminate the high-global-warming-potential refrigerants used in vapour-compression systems. A review published in Nature Energy on 30 October 2026 examines how far these caloric cooling devices and systems have progressed, and where the obstacles to practical deployment remain.

The review, led by Kun Wang, Stefan Seelecke, Qingping Sun, Qibing Pei, Manfred Kohl and Jingyuan Xu, benchmarks caloric technologies against vapour-compression and thermoelectric cooling across key performance metrics including efficiency, temperature span, cooling power density, durability and cost. The authors conclude that despite large caloric effects at the material level, a persistent gap remains between intrinsic material performance and device-level operation.

Caloric cooling technologies include magnetocaloric, elastocaloric, electrocaloric and barocaloric effects, and are emerging as solid-state alternatives to conventional refrigeration. The review covers magnetocaloric, elastocaloric, electrocaloric and barocaloric effects as the main caloric cooling technologies. According to the review, these caloric cooling technologies have the potential to eliminate high-global-warming-potential refrigerants.

Translating these material-level effects into efficient and scalable cooling systems has proven to be a major challenge. The review finds that translating material-level caloric effects into efficient and scalable cooling systems remains a major challenge, and that a gap persists between intrinsic material performance and device-level operation.

Recent advances identified in the review include fatigue-resistant shape memory alloys that improve the durability of elastocaloric devices, multilayer electrocaloric architectures that raise power density, and natural rubber-based elastocaloric systems that improve cost-effectiveness. The review identifies recent advances including fatigue-resistant shape memory alloys, multilayer electrocaloric architectures and natural rubber-based elastocaloric systems, which have improved durability, power density and cost-effectiveness.

The review also analyses system integration and cost trends, presenting cost analysis and projected cost evolution alongside performance evolution of caloric and conventional cooling technologies. The review benchmarks key performance metrics, including efficiency, temperature span, cooling power density, durability and cost, against vapour-compression and thermoelectric technologies.

The authors outline a roadmap intended to accelerate the transition towards sustainable cooling technologies. The review outlines a roadmap intended to accelerate the transition towards sustainable cooling technologies.

Thermoelectric cooling, the other major solid-state alternative, serves as a reference point in the benchmarking. The review benchmarks caloric technologies against vapour-compression and thermoelectric technologies. The review focuses on performance, scalability and prospects for practical deployment of caloric cooling devices and systems.

The review does not claim that caloric cooling is ready for immediate commercial deployment. Rather, it documents measurable progress on durability, power density and cost-effectiveness while acknowledging that the gap between material performance and device operation persists. The authors frame the technology as an emerging field whose trajectory depends on continued advances in materials, device architectures and system integration.

The review states that caloric cooling technologies have the potential to eliminate high-global-warming-potential refrigerants. The review analyses system integration and cost trends and outlines a roadmap to accelerate the transition towards sustainable cooling technologies. The review positions caloric cooling as a candidate for that role, while its benchmarking data make clear that the path from laboratory materials to deployed systems remains a substantial engineering undertaking.

Subject of Research: Caloric cooling devices and systems as solid-state alternatives to conventional refrigeration

Article Title: Caloric cooling devices and systems

Article References: Wang, K., Seelecke, S., Sun, Q., Pei, Q., Kohl, M., & Xu, J. (2026). Caloric cooling devices and systems. Nature Energy. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-026-02143-1

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1038/s41560-026-02143-1

Keywords: caloric cooling, magnetocaloric, elastocaloric, electrocaloric, barocaloric, solid-state refrigeration, vapour compression, shape memory alloys, thermoelectric cooling, refrigerants, Nature Energy, sustainable cooling