PHASE CHANGE MATERIAL PRODUCTS LTD

Their core work

PCM Products is a UK-based SME that manufactures and supplies phase change materials (PCMs) — substances that store and release thermal energy during melting and solidification. Their core business is providing PCM-based thermal energy storage solutions for buildings, covering heating, cooling, and air conditioning applications. In H2020 projects, they contribute their materials expertise to building retrofit and energy efficiency consortia, supplying PCM components and thermal storage systems that help buildings achieve near-zero energy performance.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

PCM Products began their H2020 participation (2015–2017) focused on straightforward PCM thermal storage for buildings and air conditioning, as seen in TESSe2b, VULKANO, and their own TubeICE feasibility study. From 2018 onward, their work broadened significantly into solar-integrated heating systems, demand-side management, and advanced building renovation — combining PCMs with complementary technologies like heat pumps, bio-aerogel insulation, and sorbent-based storage. This shift suggests a move from being a pure materials supplier toward becoming a systems-level contributor in integrated building energy solutions.

PCM Products is evolving from a specialist materials supplier into a partner for whole-building energy retrofit projects that combine thermal storage with solar, insulation, and smart energy management technologies.

How they like to work

PCM Products operates primarily as a specialist partner rather than a project leader — five of six projects are as participant, with one coordination of their own SME Instrument feasibility study (TubeICE). They work in large consortia (61 unique partners across 16 countries), suggesting they are a sought-after component supplier that different research groups bring in for their PCM expertise. Their wide partner spread indicates they are easy to integrate into new consortia rather than being locked into a single research cluster.

PCM Products has collaborated with 61 distinct partners across 16 countries, giving them a broad European network spanning research institutions, construction firms, and energy technology developers. Their partnerships are widely distributed rather than concentrated in any single country or cluster.

What sets them apart

PCM Products is one of very few commercial PCM manufacturers actively embedded in EU research consortia, bridging the gap between material science and building-scale deployment. Unlike university labs that study phase change materials theoretically, they bring a market-ready product line and manufacturing capability to projects. For consortium builders in building energy or retrofit calls, they offer a rare combination: a real product supplier with six projects' worth of EU collaboration experience and a 61-partner network.

Highlights from their portfolio

• TubeICE
  Their only coordinated project — an SME Instrument Phase 1 feasibility study for passive PCM-based air conditioning, signaling commercial ambition beyond supplier roles.
• Surefit
  Their largest-funded project (EUR 203,245) and most recent (2020–2025), combining PCMs with bio-aerogel insulation and solar energy for affordable domestic retrofit.
• SWS-HEATING
  Represents a diversification beyond traditional PCMs into sorbent-based seasonal thermal storage with solar collectors — expanding their technology range.