Solid State Cooling Materials and Systems Radiative, PDRC, Caloric, Thermoelectric, Multimode, Multipurpose, Other: Markets, Technology 2026-2046

The period 2026-2046 will be marked by a surge in demand for cooling technology, reasons including global warming, AI datacenters, electric vehicles and zero-emission electricity production. Solid-state cooling will come center stage because it serves the trend to multifunctional smart materials and it tends to be more reliable, applicable and longer-lived, with potential for lowest cost at system level. 

Unique report

The unique report, “Solid State Cooling Materials and Systems Radiative, PDRC, Caloric, Thermoelectric, Multimode, Multipurpose, Other: Markets, Technology 2026-2046” is the only comprehensive, up-to-date analysis of these opportunities for added value materials suppliers, product integrators and all in the value chain. It has 8 chapters, 11 SWOT appraisals, 33 forecast lines 2026-2046, 36 infograms and 472 pages. Essentially, for such a fast-moving subject, it has full coverage of the surge of advances through 2025, including the 97 most important research papers through 2025. 

The self-sufficient Executive Summary and Conclusions (43 pages) pulls it all together with 20 primary conclusions, the forecasts, new tables, pie charts, SWOT appraisals and graphics. The Introduction (31 pages) explains why the need for cooling becomes much larger and often different in nature, from 1kW microchips to 6G Communications. 

Reinventing cooling - PDRC and caloric progress

Learn the problems with the dominant vapor compression cooling in our refrigerators, freezers and air conditioning. Understand reinventing air conditioning to be lower power, greener, more affordable. See how replacing the undesirable materials widely used and proposed for cooling is an opportunity for you but recognise that there is competition for solid state cooling - examples being given.

Chapter 3. “Passive Daytime Radiative Cooling (PDRC)” has 100 pages because it discusses the surge in research through 2025 targetting apparel, windows, solar panels and much more. Understand 40 important advances in 2024-5 and activities of ten companies. Chapter 4. (41 pages) gives the wider picture of radiative cooling including self-adaptive, switchable, tuned, Janus, Anti-Stokes and advanced photonic solid-state cooling. Self-cooled high-power lasers are one Anti-Stokes prospect, possibly for emerging fusion power. Twenty-two wider advances in radiative cooling in 2025 are assessed here. There is a maturity curve of radiative cooling technologies in 2026.

Chapter 5. Caloric cooling by ferroic phase change takes 76 pages due to its importance. Although magnetocaloric forms have long had some commercialisation, the research and industrial interest through 2025 has turned to electrocaloric, and, to a lesser extent, elastocaloric options. This chapter also covers several other options with many comparisons. It concludes that the new focus is commercially appropriate. It explains why multi-mode and giant-caloric versions described here should also be tracked.

Metamaterial cooling now intensely researched

Chapter 6. “Enabling Technology: Metamaterial Cooling Materials and Devices” (54 pages) tracks the enormous recent progress in this aspect, which is largely a better way of serving cooling principles already described. Research is strong but commercialisation is, so far, modest. The basics are explained plus relevance to greenhouse, window, solar panel and personal cooling. Understand the manufacturing technologies, and popularity by formulation in 132 examples of latest thermal metamaterial research.

Thermoelectric cooling reinvented for different uses

Chapter 7 covers future thermoelectric cooling and thermoelectric harvesting as a user of and power provider for other solid-state cooling (53 pages). It explains how this old technology has now progressed to commercial neck coolers, with prospects of wide-area, flexible thermoelectrics and avoidance of toxigens and expensive materials and machining. It is a strong candidate for cooling the new 1kW chips and even researched for buildings. Secondarily, there is coverage of thermoelectric harvesting to power solid-state cooling. Indeed, thermoelectric cooling can be enhanced by other forms of solid-state cooling on its cold side. 20 recent advances in thermoelectric cooling and harvesting involving solid-state cooling are highlighted and 82 manufactures of Peltier cooling thermoelectric modules and products are listed. 

Thermal conduction with new materials

The report then closes with Chapter 8 (57 pages) on the allied topics of thermal Interface Materials TIM and other thermal conducting materials and structures. Much of this concerns TIM materials, issues, advances and practicalities emerging plus thermally conducting solids in general with graphics, SWOT appraisals, comparison tables. Seven current TIM options are compared against nine parameters in one table and nine important TIM research advances in 2025 and 2024 are presented. See thermally conductive polymer advances in 2025, companies making thermally conductive additives and progress to more sophisticated thermal composites.