Earth911 Podcast: Nostromo Wants To Cool The World With Thermal-Energy Storage

Earth911's Mitch Ratcliffe speaks with Yaron Ben-Nun, Chief Technology Officer at Nostromo, which has introduced a fascinating innovation in commercial building cooling, the IceBrick Thermal-Energy Storage technology. Nostromo is an Israeli startup that recently went public and trades on the Tel Aviv stock exchange under the symbol SMTO. IceBrick can shift the energy demand to prevent spikes in power consumption during the hottest part of the day when air conditioning demand peaks. IceBrick stores cooling energy in the form of ice during off-peak hours and overnight when there is plenty of  generation capacity available. Think of it as storing the converted electricity in ice that can be used for cooling when needed. Unlike battery systems, which are useful for approximately 3,000 cycles of use, or about 10 years and require rare earths and lithium that are currently difficult to recycle, the IceBrick uses water and a glycol formulae to operate without producing any emissions. The system is easily recycled after approximately 20 years of use.

Yaron shares the experience of several early customers in Los Angeles, explaining how commercial building owners can lower their energy bills and reduce their building's carbon footprint. He also describes how Nostromo's technology can be applied to reducing the demand on electricity grids to free up energy for EV charging and other critical electrification projects. To learn more about Nostromo and IceBrick, visit nostromo.energy.