Clean technology startup NETenergy will commercialize a hybrid air conditioning system that centers around a thermal battery. The project was developed and licensed from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), and funded from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
DOE’s Technology Commercialization Fund awarded a $500,000 grant to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, NETenergy’s partner. The grant will help NETenergy market their thermal energy storage technology, which will be integrated into a cooling system.
A thermal battery serves as the device’s core. Instead of storing electrical energy, the device retains thermal energy.
The cooling system will charge the thermal battery as it runs throughout the night, since that is when electricity is cheapest. During the day, the device will dispense the stored energy. Overall, this workflow aims to reduce cooling costs in commercial buildings.
“The technology we are developing will allow the size of HVAC systems to be smaller, while performing better and more efficiently,” says NETenergy Founder Said Al-Hallaj, research professor of chemical engineering in the UIC College of Engineering.
The current prototype will undergo tests and validation at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado, with the hopes of commercialization within the next 12 to 18 months.