'At i2Cool, We're Building A Global Ecosystem For A Green, Sustainable Future—Not Just Selling Technology,' Says Prof. Zhu

Born out of breakthrough research at the City University of Hong Kong, i2Cool is redefining the future of sustainable cooling. Founded by leading professors and young scientists from the School of Energy and Environment, the company transforms cutting-edge science—featured in top journals like Science—into real-world solutions. Its core technology, based on passive radiative cooling, enables electricity-free temperature reduction of up to 42°C using advanced nanomaterials.

From rooftops to textiles and automotive surfaces, i2Cool's coatings and films are already making an impact in nearly 30 countries. With a growing portfolio of zero-energy cooling products, i2Cool is helping cities, industries, and communities around the world move toward a cooler, greener, and carbon-neutral future.

Recently Benzinga spoke with Prof. Martin Zhu, Co-Founder and CEO of i2Cool, the trailblazing company behind electricity-free cooling technology that's making waves across more than 20 countries.

With a Ph.D. in Energy and Environment from City University of Hong Kong, Prof. Zhu stands at the intersection of cutting-edge research, climate innovation, and entrepreneurial impact.

Under his leadership, i2Cool has not only secured over HK$140 million in funding, but has also delivered real-world solutions—ranging from cooling skyscrapers and city buses to empowering underserved communities through social initiatives.

Here's an excerpt from our conversation with Prof. Zhu, where he discusses how i2Cool is redefining passive cooling, scaling globally, and driving climate resilience through deep-tech innovation and community-centered leadership.

The i2Cool has gained traction in 20+ countries across a range of applications. What is your strategic roadmap for expanding further into high-growth regions such as Southeast Asia, Africa, and LATAM?

We started with demonstration projects in Hong Kong, since being based there made it easier to access building owners and run pilot tests. As a cooling technology developed in the lab, we initially had no direct links to industry players. So our strategy was to prove the concept through local casework, collect reliable performance data, and then partner with distributors who already have strong connections in key sectors.

We're now replicating this model in regions like Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Our first projects in the UAE included high-profile sites such as Dubai Mall and the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi. These pilots allowed us to gather precise data showing how much energy can be saved and how significantly we can reduce surface temperatures.

With that data, we engage local distributors who understand the ecosystem and have access to industries such as construction, logistics, cold chain, and container infrastructure. These partners play a key role in promoting our technology within their networks, helping us scale in each market.

Because we didn't come from an industrial background, our focus has always been to build trust and credibility through results. By thinking globally but acting locally, and aligning with each region's market standards and expectations, we've been able to bring our lab-born solution to real-world applications across different countries.

You've successfully collaborated with government bodies and research institutions. How do you evaluate which partnerships to pursue—particularly when it comes to scaling R&D or advancing regulatory adoption?

In the beginning, our material was still at the lab stage and hadn't been tested in real-world environments, which are very different from controlled lab conditions. The first actual application came through a pilot project supported by the Hong Kong government, in a government building near the airport. That project gave us valuable data—on durability, resistance to water droplets, dust, and other real-world factors. It also helped us fine-tune the material and formula to make the product more practical for field use.

This government-led trial was critical, as it validated the technology and gave us a performance reference for the broader market. After that, we gradually expanded to commercial projects—working with developers, shopping malls, and private buildings. So our journey has been step-by-step: from lab, to public sector validation, and then into the private market.

With origins in academic research and journal publications like Science, how did you bridge the gap between lab innovation and scalable commercial products? What were the key inflection points along the way?

Scaling up from lab to factory was one of the biggest challenges we faced. In the lab, we work with small-scale tools like beakers and stirrers, and use high-purity materials under ideal conditions. But in a factory setting, the equipment is much larger and the raw materials come from industrial suppliers, where quality can vary. We had to spend over three months fine-tuning the equipment parameters and testing different material sources to ensure we could replicate the lab results at scale.

Another major challenge was balancing performance and cost. In theory, achieving 99.9% reflectivity or emissivity would offer the best results, but doing so requires extremely high-grade materials, which can drive up the cost by 10 times. That's not always viable for the market. So we had to find the right formula that could deliver strong performance while remaining cost-effective.

In the end, the key was balance—between lab precision and industrial reality, and between optimal performance and market feasibility.

How is i2Cool aligning its long-term corporate strategy with global sustainability goals, such as Net Zero 2050 and ESG mandates?

In the short term, we focus on producing and selling final products—like coatings, films for buildings, and textiles for the B2C market—to prove the concept and demonstrate the value of our technology in real-world projects. This helps us collect data and build trust with customers.

But in the long run, our goal is to shift towards a platform model. We aim to produce only the core nanoparticle concentrate, which can be supplied to various manufacturers—paint, film, or fiber makers—who can then integrate our i2Cool technology as an additive into their own products. This would allow us to scale through established players in mature industries.

Ultimately, we want to focus on the technology itself and enable wide adoption across sectors. Given how quickly this industry evolves, we believe manufacturers are increasingly open to adopting innovative materials like ours into their existing product lines.

What emerging technologies or materials are in your pipeline that you believe will define the next phase of electricity-free cooling solutions?

Currently, our product offers a single function: electricity-free cooling during summer by reflecting sunlight and emitting heat. But we're developing a second version that adapts to ambient temperature. In winter, the material will shift to a darker color to absorb solar energy and help warm indoor spaces. In summer, it returns to a lighter color to enable passive cooling. This version would be ideal for regions with seasonal variations, such as high-altitude countries.

We’ve also observed that in humid regions like Southeast Asia, especially during rainy days, the cooling performance drops because water vapor blocks thermal emission. To address this, we’re working on a new research direction—harvesting kinetic energy from raindrops to generate electricity.

In the future, our technology will offer dual functionality: passive cooling on sunny days and power generation on rainy days, making it suitable for diverse climates and conditions.

Given the wide range of use cases—from PV panels to textiles—how do you strike a balance between product customization and the need for scalable manufacturing?

Yes, it requires extensive trial work and strong quality control in the factory. Any time we switch to a lower-cost material or change suppliers, we must assess how it affects product performance. That's why we're building a systematic method to evaluate and verify the effectiveness of our technology.

For any startup aiming to strike the right balance between performance, cost, and market acceptance, it’s essential to first understand what the market needs and what level of performance is considered “good enough.” Defining those standards early on is key to scaling successfully.

How does customer feedback from real-world deployments—such as logistics operations in the UAE or public housing projects in Hong Kong—inform your product iteration process?

Different customers have different expectations, largely shaped by their local climate conditions. For example, in the UAE's hot and dry climate, we initially expected our cooling material to reduce indoor temperatures by 3–5°C, similar to our Hong Kong trials. But in our first UAE project at Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi, it actually reduced temperatures by over 10°C—well beyond our expectations.

However, we soon discovered a new challenge: the extreme temperature difference between day and night in desert climates caused thermal expansion, which led to material cracking. While the cooling performance was excellent, the material's durability wasn't suitable for those conditions. So we returned to the lab and modified the formulation to improve elongation and resistance to thermal stress.

This experience showed us that every market has unique expectations and environmental demands. To succeed globally, we must start from the end-user's needs and continuously adapt the technology to local conditions and customer behavior.

With offerings like i2Coating, i2Film, and i2Membrane, is there a long-term plan to bundle or integrate these into a full-stack thermal management system for buildings or infrastructure?

Yeah, you raised a very good point because we have a lot of products and a lot of new things. Currently, our focus is on buildings and outdoor equipment in urban areas. But as we develop our ceramic-based solutions, we’re expanding into city infrastructure. In some large-scale projects in Hong Kong, we applied our material to expansive rooftop areas and found that not only did the buildings cool significantly, but the surrounding air temperature also dropped by 0.5 to 1°C.

This suggests that wide-scale application across urban infrastructure can help cool entire communities, contributing meaningfully to global climate goals—like the UN's target of limiting temperature rise to 1.5°C. Even a 0.5°C local reduction can have a major impact on mitigating the urban heat island effect and improving public thermal comfort.

That's why we're now pushing ceramic materials into public infrastructure. In parallel, we're also developing B2C products—like textiles, clothing, umbrellas, and other daily-use items—to empower individuals, not just institutions. We want our cooling technology to reach every part of the community, blending both ‘hardware' like buildings and infrastructure, and ‘software'—the people who live there.

I recently experienced the heatwave in Paris firsthand, and it was strikingly similar to what we see in Hong Kong. As extreme heat events become more common, even in high-altitude countries, we believe our technology has a role to play globally—not only for cities and industries, but for everyday people seeking relief from rising temperatures.

i2Cool integrates electricity-free cooling technology with traditional materials such as paint and textiles. How do you think this innovation will reshape the role of these materials in industries like construction and automotive?

Our material is versatile and not limited to premium applications like buildings. While we’ve started with infrastructure projects to demonstrate clear cooling benefits, our broader goal is to scale the technology across diverse, accessible use cases. That's why we've begun integrating our core cooling nanoparticles into different substrates—like textiles—enabling B2C products for everyday use.

This shift builds on what we've learned from large-scale urban projects and is part of our strategy to move from niche adoption to widespread impact. We're also collaborating with research teams beyond our base at City University of Hong Kong, including Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and the University of Virginia, to test and adapt the technology for various climates.

Our mission goes beyond commercial rollout—we aim to foster a global ecosystem for green innovation. By working with universities, industries, and other partners, we hope to contribute to the wider climate solution through scalable, inclusive, and sustainable technologies.

How is i2Cool adapting its electricity-free cooling technology for the automotive sector, and what impact has it shown in real-world vehicle applications?

The i2Cool's electricity-free cooling technology is being adapted for the automotive sector through its i2Coating Auto and i2Film Auto product lines. These target vehicle bodies, windows, and wheel hubs, offering high solar reflectance, durability, and temperature reduction. The powder coating for wheel hubs reduces surface temperature by 10–18°C, while other coatings lower interior temperatures by up to 10°C.

i2Film Auto provides up to 94% mid-infrared emissivity with UV protection and transparency, suitable for all vehicle types—from passenger cars to RVs and service vehicles. Real-world trials show strong results: Hong Kong's Citybus retrofit saw a 4.6°C cabin drop and 26% energy savings; in mainland China, vehicles recorded cooling up to 10°C.

These results highlight the broad potential of i2Cool's solutions in the mobility sector.