Dive Brief:
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Trane, a manufacturer of heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment, has acquired CALMAC, a privately-held company specializing in cool energy technologies.
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One of CALMAC’s key technologies is its IceBank storage tanks that store energy as ice that can be used later to cool buildings.
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Trane will retain CALMAC’s employees and leadership and, like Trane, CALMAC will become part of the Ingersoll Rand portfolio of products.
Dive Insight:
Energy storage is hot, but some new entrants into storage struggle financially. However companies, like CALMAC and Ice Energy that use cooled liquid storage, say their profits are robust.
Cooled liquid storage uses low-priced nighttime electricity to freeze or cool a liquid and then uses the chilled liquid to help offset electric air conditioning loads when power prices peak during the day. Even before the announced merger, CALMAC was working with Trane to integrate its ice storage tanks with Trane commercial HVAC systems to take pressure off of the energy grid.
CALMAC says its thermal storage systems reduce energy usage by roughly 35% by decreasing need for carbon-emitting peaking power plants. Its business model targeted building owners, wooing customers by simply cutting their electricity bills, and impacting how high demand charges from peaking air conditioner use can be controlled.
“We made the decision to join Trane because of our long tenure and history with Trane’s people, application expertise and system design,” CALMAC President Mark MacCracken, said in a statement.
