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California invests $2m in anti-icing material

USA: Nelumbo, a US company developing advanced surface modifications to improve heat exchanger performance, has been awarded $2m in funding from the California Energy Commission (CEC).

The CEC invests in scientific and technological research to accelerate the transformation of the electricity sector through its Electric Programme Investment Charge (EPIC). 

“Nelumbo has created an advanced anti-icing material to improve the energy efficiency of industrial refrigeration systems. Cutting edge technologies like Nelumbo’s have the potential to create energy savings while advancing California’s clean energy goals,” said CEC vice chair Janea Scott. 

The deployment of Nelumbo’s anti-ice materials on industrial refrigeration systems is seen as a potentially cost-effective way to decarbonise California’s food and beverage processing industry. 

Nelumbo has already demonstrated its anti-ice materials on residential refrigerators as well as residential and commercial-scale heat pumps. With this funding, Nelumbo says it will optimise its materials for industrial substrates and scale manufacturing processes required for commercial adoption.

“Recent events have highlighted exactly how critical the robustness of our food supply chain is,” said Nelumbo CEO Liam Berryman. “We are pleased to work with the CEC to demonstrate a solution that can be impactful at any scale and to any system. We see this project as an expansion step into a range of new sustainable opportunities in cooling.”

Related stories:

Surface innovator, Nelumbo, raises $14m – 15 April 2020
USA: Nelumbo, a pioneer in advanced surface modifications, which could improve heat exchanger performance and corrosion resistance, has raised $14m in new funding. Read more…

Danfoss set to deploy new surface technology – 15 January 2019
DENMARK/USA: Danfoss is set to deploy new surface modification technology on its microchannel heat exchangers. Read more…

Danfoss invests in US coil coating firm – 27 June 2018
USA/DENMARK: Continuing to invest in new technology, Danfoss has acquired a minority stake in Nelumbo, a California-based developer of heat exchanger surface treatment technology. Read more…

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