Ice cold tech is a red hot idea

David Grundy describes the revolutionary ‘cold battery’ that has been created in Lancashire as a clever version of a children’s ‘slushie’ drink.

It’s a lot more complicated than that. Thornton based company Organic Heat Exchangers’ (O-Hx) patented ‘EnergiVault’ cold thermal energy storage system is truly game-changing.

It is designed to store and rapidly release cooling power for industrial-scale applications.

It’s little wonder David, the company’s commercial director, describes the global market for the product as “absolutely massive”.

The technology developed on the Fylde coast is designed to shift refrigeration’s high energy demand to more economic off-peak periods.

O-Hx and its work is a great example of Lancashire’s industry leading innovation as it looks to be a major player in the low carbon sector, which it is estimated could be worth over £1trn domestically by 2030.

The system uses perfectly round tiny ‘binary ice’ crystals that do not clump together, flow as a liquid, store vulnerable but valuable refrigeration loads and melt rapidly when needed.

The units, which can be powered by renewable energy and fitted inside a standard 20-foot storage container, are able to store and then discharge 1MWh of cold energy in less than two hours, mainly to replace or supplement existing or new chillers being used for air-conditioning and process cooling.

By charging at a ‘trickle rate’, they reduce running costs and carbon emissions, while improving reliability and scalability.

To put things into context, it is estimated that around 10 per cent of global electrical energy powers industrial cooling, typically in
chilled warehouses, pharmaceutical and food manufacturing plants and data centres. The figure is predicted to rise closer to 25 per cent if global warming continues at current rates.

The combined commercial value of cold energy storage in the UK, EU and USA alone is estimated to be around £7bn.

O-Hx has moved from proof-of-concept to being on the cusp of commercialisation. The technology is live and being utilised at three sites, including a vertical farming facility in Dundee and a pharmaceutical plant in Northumberland.

Discussions are taking place with the NHS and the Manchester Airport Group (MAG).

The technology does not come cheap, the price-tag is around £200,000 a unit.

The venture is the brainchild of Fleetwood born engineer Bob Long, who has decades of experience in applied thermodynamics.

Now in his 70s, his business journey took him to South Africa before returning to his native Lancashire.

Proving the concept has taken years of R&D, early investment from the founders, and a relentless focus on solving the engineering challenges.

The business has had the support of county’s low carbon innovation agency RedCAT, which helped it build a working demonstration unit with a pharma company in Northumberland.

David Grundy lists the sectors where EnergiVault can make a difference. “Air conditioning in big hotels and warehouses, cold stores, pharma manufacturing, data centres, wherever you go industry needs cooling,” he says.

“The units save money and reduce carbon footprints as well as boosting operational resilience.

“We are just at the point of commercialisation and we’re talking with manufacturers, including one possibility in east Lancashire.”

O-Hx is just one business on an impressivelist of Lancashire’s innovators – the tech pioneers leading the county’s low carbon
industrial revolution.

Aquaspira is another. It designs and manufactures underground pipelines and tank systems from its Nelson base. They are made from composite steel reinforced polyethylene (CSR) with a 120-year life expectancy – rather than concrete with its high carbon cement content.

Currently they are being used by utility companies and for commercial applications across the UK. Low material and manufacturing costs are further underpinned by a smaller excavation footprint and faster programme times and an 85 per cent use of recycled steel.

Neil Wallace is managing director of the business, which has a 40-strong workforce. He says: “Concrete manufacturing emits a massive amount of carbon, accounting for roughly eight per cent of global Co2 emissions.”

The business has a turnover in the region of £20m and given the need for utility companies to invest heavily in their infrastructure, Neil is forecasting it will double or even treble in the next few years.

Aquaspira has also been on its own carbon reduction journey and continues to invest in R&D to bring forward new climate-related low carbon technologies and develop new markets.

It is looking at how remote sensors and optical fibre cables embedded in its pipe sections can send real-time stress and strain data to operator IT systems.

The company also believes it can tap into a huge global market for ground source heating in colder climates and ground source cooling in warm locations.

“That’s something we are working on at the moment, with a demonstrator that will be running in the first quarter of the year,” says Neil.

AirPlus Renewables is based outside Lancashire but it is looking to manufacture its technology in Burnley – tapping into east
Lancashire’s engineering know-how.

It has developed its technology around wind turbines. Its revolutionary patented vertical-axis micro wind turbines are designed to deliver reliable, decentralised energy anywhere, from remote rooftops to commercial sites and off-grid environments.

Carl Everitt, the company’s operations and supply chain director, says the plan is to launch the product later this year. He adds: “There is a lot of international interest in it. It is something that is going to allow businesses to take control of their energy generation at source.

“We are excited to be bringing this technology forward and for its possibilities.”