Xero Cool

This refrigerator is built by bacteria and powered by the sun.

Every time you open your fridge, you are connected to a global system whose carbon impact exceeds that of every country on Earth except China and the United States. Refrigeration is estimated to be responsible for eight percent of global emissions, split between energy-intensive lifespans and environmentally devastating materials. That is roughly 3X more than the entire aviation industry. On a heating planet, the way we produce cold degrades far-reaching ecosystems and actually makes the Earth hotter.

Xero Cool is a solar chiller insulated with bacterial cellulose xerogel, a highly porous solid with superior thermal resistance. The project connects new findings in lightweight bio-derived insulation materials to emerging science in heat-driven refrigeration technology leveraging nontoxic refrigerants. It imagines a future where we collaborate with more-than-human organisms to create performative materials and harness the abundance of solar energy to power ecologically benevolent technologies. Fundamentally, Xero Cool questions how communities might wield power through food sovereignty and localised material intelligence when critical infrastructure like cooling space is decoupled from global architects of capitalist distribution.

KEY WORDS

food sovereignty 

green chemistry

performative materials

thermal insulation

solarpunk technologies

probiotic design

ecofeminism 

climate resilience

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AWARDS

Re:Generating Creativity Graduate Award

Shortlisted: Maison/0 Green Trail Award

Shortlisted: Miss Sixty Future Denim Award

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PROJECT DURATION

September 2025

- June 2026

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COLLABORATORS

This project was developed with the support of the Francis Crick Institute, in collaboration with the Making Lab. Thank you to Albane Imbert, head of the Making Lab, and her team Christina Dix, Federico Nebuloni, Ross Burdis, Simon Tupin and Xavier Cano Ferrer

Evaluation courtesy of UCL Advanced Characterisation Laboratory

Wild IS Earth Kombucha Microbrewery 

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PRESS

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