After the decade-long exhaustive study of binary high-$T_{\mathrm{c}}$ superconducting hydrides, the frontier of this stimulating research field has recently shifted to ternary hydrides with much expanded conformational space in search of coveted room-temperature superconductors. This task, however, presents a formidable challenge due to enormous demands on computational resources. Here, we devise an efficient high-throughput approach using keen material insights and a self-built database to screen for robust ternary hydrides in clathrate structures, which were proven to host the highest $T_{\mathrm{c}}$ in binary hydrides, and to estimate $T_{\mathrm{c}}$ by a reliable empirical formula. This approach has made it possible to uncover a diverse set of complex multiple-hydrogen-cage ternary hydrides hosting near or above-room-temperature $T_{\mathrm{c}}$, which are beyond the reach of prevailing structure search methods. Using self-built databases and empirical models, in this study, we open a fresh avenue to enable and accelerate the discovery of promising room-temperature superconductors among unprecedented complex clathrate hydrides.

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• Pressure effects
• Structural properties
• Superconductivity
• Clathrates
• Crystal structures
• Hydrides
• Density functional calculations
• High-throughput calculations