Ultra-efficient heating and cooling start-up, Conry Tech, has announced field trials for its new air conditioning technology which can drastically cut energy use and emissions.
The first trial will be undertaken with the University of NSW, alongside a number of commercial pilots in Melbourne.
Earlier this week Conry tech announced the closure of a pre-seed round led by Bandera Capital alongside Pacific Channel.
Bandera Capital invests in climate technology startups that can enable profitable transition to net-zero while Pacific Channel is a New Zealand based venture capital firm specialising in deep tech that helps to create a better future.
The strategic investment takes Conry Tech’s total funding to $8.7 million which will support the company’s mission to eliminate another billion tonnes of CO2 emissions caused by air-conditioning.
The founders - Ron Conry, Sam Ringwaldt and Brenda Ringwaldt -reached this gigaton emissions milestone at their last business where they created an ultra efficient air conditioning unit, now they want to reinvent the industry entirely.
Conry Tech CEO, Sam Ringwaldt, said the mission is to reinvent air conditioning to make comfort sustainable..
“The technology is based on decentralised aircon units that deliver cooling and heating throughout a property. Air-conditioning is one of the major global contributors of CO2 emissions and climate change, and our hyper efficient micro chillers are a radical solution to this problem,” he said.
“The system is designed for any building bigger than a house. Typically, this means office spaces, hotels, data centres, shopping centres, and other large public spaces. “
Dubbed the Bull Ant, the technology will be Australia’s answer to one of the world’s biggest pollution problems, Ringwaldt said.
The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment & Water estimates the HVACR sector used 25 per cent of all electricity generated last year, and the Bureau of Meteorology predicts 2024 will be one of the hottest summers on record.
“Bull Ants can cut the energy use and emissions of a commercial building’s air-conditioning by 40 per cent, which is vital as countries aim to reduce cooling related emissions. They are radically different to traditional commercial air-conditioning units that take up lots of space, are expensive to maintain and consume huge amounts of power,” Ringwaldt said.
Headquartered in Melbourne, the company is building its ‘Bull Ant army’ with preparations underway to install the first units in Australian commercial spaces next year.
The team are passionate about maintaining their business and manufacturing base in Australia for the long term.
“However, this is entirely dependent on funding. If the money runs dry in future, we may have to look for new investors and a new home in the US,” he said.
“We started with a blank piece of paper, with a mission to revolutionise air-conditioning, knowing that approximately 10 new air-conditioners will be installed every second for the next three decades.”
Bandera chose Conry Tech due to the founding team’s track record building multi-million-dollar businesses that have already eliminated millions of tonnes of CO2 emissions.
In his career, Ron Conry has set up 30 factories, on five continents, employing thousands of people – most notably with Turbocor in Australia, Canada, and the United States.
The strength of Conry Tech’s global IP/patents was also a factor. Conry Tech is exploring options for a small addition to the round with final investors before 31 December.
Bandera Capital partner, Jeremy Atkin, said Conry Tech has incredible potential.
“Truth be told, I had never really given much thought to air-conditioning energy use and emissions until I met Conry Tech,” Atkin said.
“Once I did some research into the sector, I realised it’s a huge slow-moving industry that was ripe for disruption We want to enable Conry to disrupt the market and significantly reduce commercial building emissions.”
Conry Tech is looking for more test-sites for its technology. These can be either retrofits into existing properties or deployments into new-build commercial properties.