There's something cool going on with air conditioning.
OxiCool, Inc. a Philadelphia-based company, which has received $400,000 in investment from
Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania, including $250,000 announced from its Competitive Energy Consortia last month, recently received a patent for its environmentally friendly air-cooling technology. OxiCool is working under a Joint Development Agreement with one of the three largest truck companies in the world, and is about to finish their second prototype.
The technology uses water as the main refrigerant and low-grade, recycled heat from exhaust waste and other green sources as the main energy source. There are no toxic components and zero direct emissions; virtually this technology is completely clean.
OxiCool initially developed this technology to be used in sleeper cabs in long-haul trucks. Often the only way for drivers to power their air-conditioning units while they aren't driving is to idle their engines, producing exhaust and wasting fuel and contributing massive amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. OxiCool's product eliminates the need to idle because the technology uses minimal amounts of electricity to operate. This development has the potential to save nearly 11 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, as well as a lot of grief for truck drivers in the more than 30 states that have introduced anti-idling legislation.
OxiCool's joint research and development agreement with the U.S. Navy and another with an unnamed large U.S. corporation comprise much of its work at present. The Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation and private angel investors from across the country are other investors. OxiCool is in
hiring mode, looking for "exceptional candidates."
Source: Emma Kaye, OxiCool
Writer: Nina Rosenberg