From the lab to the world stage: Illinois cooling technology helps FIFA and Houston beat the heat

Research developed in the laboratory of mechanical science and engineering professor Lili Cai helped address extreme urban heat through a high-profile deployment at the FIFA Fan Festival in Houston, Texas.

This summer, SolarMantle, a startup spun out of Cai’s research, partnered with the FIFA Sustainability Team and the City of Houston to deploy its passive cooling film on public infrastructure ahead of one of the world’s largest sporting events.

As cities worldwide face increasingly frequent and intense heat waves, passive daytime radiative cooling offers a promising approach to keep surfaces significantly cooler under direct sunlight, mitigating heat buildup and improving thermal comfort without consuming electricity. The FIFA deployment provided an opportunity to demonstrate these benefits under demanding real-world conditions. Treated roofs measured more than 40 degrees cooler than adjacent untreated metal roofs, highlighting the technology’s potential to improve public infrastructure resilience while reducing cooling demand in hot climates.

The successful deployment was built on years of research and technology translation at Illinois. Graduate student Yoon Young Choi played an important role in scaling the manufacturing process for large-area cooling films through the Illinois Innovation Voucher Program, helping bridge laboratory fabrication with commercial production. The manufacturing and field deployment were led by Aman Mehta, principal engineer at SolarMantle and a MechSE alumnus who began working on the technology as an undergraduate researcher in Cai’s laboratory.

“It was incredibly rewarding to stand on that rooftop in Houston and realize that research we worked on as students at Illinois was now solving a real problem for a major city,” Aman said. “That’s what engineering should do — take ideas from the lab and create tangible impact in the world.”

For Cai’s research group, the FIFA deployment represents another important milestone in translating fundamental research into practical solutions for communities facing increasing heat challenges. As SolarMantle continues expanding applications for commercial buildings, industrial facilities, public infrastructure, and data centers, the deployment reflects the broader impact that research developed at Illinois can have beyond campus — including on the global stage at FIFA.