Materials science
World-leading capability in reflective and radiative surfaces — advanced coatings, composites and PDRC materials evaluated for optical performance and long-term stability.
[ Project · China ]
China Research & Engineering Programme, Beijing.
A long-term MEER programme in Beijing developing and testing next-generation passive cooling materials, prototypes and manufacturing pathways.
[ Project overview ]
A strategic platform for innovation — not a single field project.
The China programme is where science, engineering and manufacturing come together to accelerate passive cooling for a warming world. It combines world-leading materials science, advanced manufacturing capability, large-scale engineering expertise and rapidly growing research capacity — a platform where new ideas are studied, prototyped, tested and prepared for deployment across MEER's global network.
R&D
Programme focus
materials, prototypes, manufacturing
Scale-up
Programme phase
engineering scale-up
Global
Network
international research partners
Enabling
Role
in MEER's global platform
[ Why China ]
One of MEER's principal research and engineering centres.
China combines depth in materials science, precision manufacturing at commercial scale and a rapidly expanding research base — the exact conditions required to move passive cooling from promising laboratory results to systems that can be produced and deployed globally.
The Beijing programme anchors this work, coordinating laboratory research, prototype engineering and field validation with partners across the country and beyond.
China's role in the MEER network is to enable scale — turning validated science into materials, prototypes and manufacturing pathways that other regions can deploy.
“China is where MEER's research, engineering and manufacturing capabilities meet — the platform that lets validated science travel across the global network.”
[ Programme focus ]
Materials, prototypes, manufacturing and measurement.
The China programme's work spans the full research-to-deployment pipeline — from materials science through to systems designed for durability, modularity and manufacturability.
Advanced manufacturing
Precision fabrication at commercial scale — the capability required to move validated designs from prototype to reproducible production.
Large-scale engineering
Systems engineered for real-world operation — durable, modular and designed to withstand years of outdoor exposure.
Research capacity
A rapidly growing scientific base coordinating laboratory studies, materials characterisation and instrumented field validation.
International collaboration
Formal partnerships with universities and research institutions that bridge Chinese capability into MEER's global field programmes.
Prototype field trials
Rooftop and outdoor arrays where laboratory findings are validated under real atmospheric conditions before wider deployment.
[ Cooling technologies ]
From reflective composites to passive daytime radiative cooling.
The programme evaluates a spectrum of passive cooling approaches — from proven high-albedo reflective materials to advanced coatings and PDRC surfaces that reject heat directly to the sky through the atmospheric window without any electricity.
Each candidate material is characterised for optical performance, weathering resistance and long-term behaviour, then engineered into systems designed for durability, modularity and manufacturability.
[ Field validation ]
Instrumented outdoor arrays. Real atmospheric conditions.
Once laboratory studies confirm a material's optical performance, prototypes are deployed to instrumented rooftop and hillside arrays — where they are evaluated for cooling performance, weathering and long-term stability under real-world conditions.
Real-world validation is what turns a promising material into a deployable cooling technology — this is what the China programme is built to generate.
[ Programme timeline ]
From research partnership to global deployment.
The China programme follows a continuous cycle — from scientific collaboration through to systems ready for community-scale deployment across MEER's global network.
Stage 01
Research partnerships
Formal collaborations with universities and research institutions combining expertise across materials, physics and engineering.
Stage 02
Laboratory development
Controlled studies of reflective and radiative cooling materials — measuring optical performance under instrumented conditions.
Stage 03
Material testing
Coatings and surfaces evaluated for optical performance, weathering resistance and long-term stability.
Stage 04
Prototype development
Turning laboratory findings into physical systems designed for durability, modularity and manufacturability.
Stage 05
Field trials
Deployment of prototypes to rooftop and outdoor sites for real-world validation across different climates.
Stage 06
Large-scale deployment
Refined designs handed off to MEER's global field programmes for community-scale installation.
[ Research network ]
Delivered with universities, industry and international collaborators.
The programme is carried out by MEER's China team in collaboration with universities, research institutions, industry partners and MEER's global field programmes.
01
Universities & research institutions
Joint work on materials characterisation, optical measurement and the evaluation of next-generation passive cooling technologies.
02
Industry & manufacturing partners
Precision fabrication and scale-up capability — the route from validated designs to reproducible production.
03
MEER global field programmes
Direct hand-off of engineered systems to MEER's field deployments in Sierra Leone, India and beyond.
[ Looking ahead ]
From engineered prototypes to global-scale deployment.
Future work will advance next-generation PDRC materials, expand manufacturing partnerships and deepen the pipeline that carries validated science from Beijing into MEER's field programmes worldwide.
[ Project gallery ]
Photographs from the programme
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[ Research network ]
This project connects to the wider MEER knowledge base.
Every deployment, measurement, publication and sibling project links back to a shared scientific graph. Follow any thread to keep exploring.
Scientific concepts
- Radiative CoolingHeat loss from any object by emitting thermal infrared radiation.
- Atmospheric WindowA range of infrared wavelengths (roughly 8–13 μm) where the atmosphere absorbs relatively little of Earth's outgoing thermal radiation.
- AlbedoThe fraction of sunlight a surface reflects — 0 is black, 1 is a perfect mirror.
- Solar ReflectanceThe fraction of incoming solar energy a surface reflects across the sun's spectrum.
- Thermal EmittanceHow efficiently a surface releases heat as infrared radiation.
Publications
Related projects
Partner with MEER's China programme.
We're actively building research, engineering and manufacturing partnerships to accelerate the development and deployment of passive cooling technologies worldwide.
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