Ice Energy, a provider of distributed thermal energy storage technology, is establishing a new research and development center in Riverside, California. Among other projects, Ice Energy will pursue a line of smaller residential systems and extend the range of applications supported by its Ice Bear energy storage technology.
The company recently was awarded a five-year contract from Riverside Public Utilities to provide 5 MW of behind-the-meter thermal energy storage using its proprietary Ice Bear system. In addition to R&D efforts, the new 22,000-sq-foot facility will serve as a staging area for the Riverside Ice Bear program and support Ice Energy’s 25.6 MW Southern California Edison project.
Ice Energy selected the city of Riverside for i) its commitment to high technology business development in the form of grants and incentives; ii) the University of California, Riverside, and iii) the growing number of high tech and HVAC businesses in the area.
Ice Energy will be hiring a team of 12 to staff the R&D center.
Ice Bear attaches to one or more standard 5-20 ton rooftop commercial AC units and freezes ice at night when demand for power is low and capacity is abundant. The stored ice is used during the day to provide cooling instead of power-intensive AC compressors.
