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MARKET RESEARCH
Annual growth of 28.9% projected for biobased PCM market in Americas
The compound annual growth rate for the biobased phase change material market in the Americas is projected to be 28.9 percent between 2013 and 2018, according to MicroMarket Monitor’s latest report on the topic. That’s an increase of nearly 2 percentage points over rate projected in MicroMarket’s October report.
HVAC
Syracuse-led team wins $3.2 million ARPA-E grant
A team led by Syracuse University has been awarded a $3.2 million grant by the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy to develop a “micro environmental control system” for office buildings. The team, which also includes Air Innovations, Cornell University, United Technologies Research Center and Bush Technical LLC, is working on a micro vapor compression system that has an evaporator embedded in phase change material.
The cooling produced by the micro vapor will be stored in the PCM at night and released during the day. The unit, about the size of a desktop computer, will maintain comfortable micro climates and allow thermostats for bigger spaces to be set 4º F higher or lower than is now typical. The team’s goal is to achieve at least a 15 percent reduction in heating and cooling costs.
Researcher says in-depth analysis is key to energy retrofits
Matteo D’Antoni, a senior researcher at the European Academy of Bozen/Bolzano in Italy, talked with youris.com about installing energy-saving technologies in existing buildings. He lists three important planning steps:- Evaluate the building’s existing energy consumption.
- Evaluate the integration of passive technologies, such as phase change material.
- Evaluate the integration of active technologies, such as solar energy.
“It is a complex approach,” he explained. “One the one hand, we have to calculate how much primary energy can we save; on the other, how much it costs. Technologies have to be easy to install and maintain and [incur] a limited investment cost. If they are expensive, we have to understand whether it makes sense to install them. And this analysis has to take into account the energy concept of a specific building replaced in its own environmental context.”
SMART COATINGS
Webinar on smart coatings market research is set for Feb. 11
Industry analyst NanoMarkets will hold a webinar on Feb. 11 to present its latest report on the smart coatings market. The report projects that market, which includes phase change materials, will grow from around $610 million in 2015 to $5.8 billion in 2020. Webinar topics include:- The impact of trends such as the decline in energy prices and the war on terror.
- Insight on self-healing, self-cleaning and self-assembling coatings.
- The outlook for wearable electronics and the Internet of Things.
REFRIGERATION
Frigesco to present at CleanEquity Monaco
Frigesco Ltd. has been invited to present an update on its flash frost technology at CleanEquity Monaco 2015 in March. The annual conference, hosted by the investment bank Innovator Capital, brings together industry experts, government officials, policymakers and investors to discuss “next generation” clean technology.
The British company’s technology harnesses waste heat to defrost refrigeration systems more efficiently, reducing supermarket cooling costs by up to 20 percent. Phase change material is used to store the waste heat.
RESEARCH
ENERGY STORAGE
New technologies, policies brighten prospects for thermal energy storage
NBC News’ John Roach reports that falling costs and industry-friendly policy incentives for thermal energy storage could help make wind- and solar-generated electricity a multibillion-dollar industry in the next decade.