Evercloak is accelerating the commercialisation of its market-first, building dehumidification technology with funding from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).
The funding will support a pilot project valued at up to $US3 million.
Evercloak will initially receive $350,000 to accelerate the scale-up of its graphene oxide composite membrane production and build an advanced dehumidification system prototype.
The system is enabled by Evercloak's proprietary membrane that allows water vapour to pass through while blocking the passage of air.
Removing humidity from the air and keeping it in a vapour phase radically reduces the energy required to dehumidify, and subsequently cool, air.
Evercloak CEO, Evelyn Allen, said conventional air conditioning uses so much energy because it cools and dehumidifies at the same time, chilling the air until the moisture condenses out.
“By separating those two steps and using membrane-based technology to handle the dehumidification, we can achieve the same building cooling results using far less energy,” Allen said.
The program supports innovative technologies including ground source heat pumps, cutting-edge geothermal technologies, and novel building envelope solutions in addition to intelligent building control solutions.
Once the scale-up phase is complete, NYSERDA has the option to extend funding providing an additional $US1.15million to develop a full-scale HVAC system and commercial demonstration of the system in a New York City building.
NYSERDA president & CEO, Doreen M. Harris said the next generation of heating and cooling technologies will be critical to modernising buildings, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and tackling rising temperatures due to climate change.
“Innovative solutions like Evercloak's dehumidification technology are helping to advance scalable systems that can be implemented in existing buildings across the state while helping to provide a safe and comfortable living environment for residents,” she said.
Evercloak estimates that using its technology could reduce emissions within the state's building sector by 40 per cent and cut the sector's peak energy consumption by 25 per cent.
As a result, it would eliminate two-five megatonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalents a year.
"We're thrilled to be contributing to New York State's carbon reduction goals and advancing technology that will disrupt global HVAC markets," Allen said. "As the climate crisis intensifies, it's more urgent than ever to find sustainable ways to cool buildings — and that's exactly what Evercloak is doing."