An innovative "ice battery" system is being used to cool buildings and lower energy costs

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🗞️ Driving the news: A Manhattan skyscraper is using an innovative "ice battery" system to cut energy costs and reduce grid strain
• Installed by Trane Technologies at Eleven Madison, the system produces 500,000 pounds of ice overnight — when electricity is cheaper — and uses it to cool the building during peak demand hours
• Trane reports up to 40% savings on cooling costs, marking a scalable model for more sustainable urban energy use

🔭 The context: Air conditioning represents 20% of global building energy use and can surge to over 70% of demand during peak summer hours
• Current infrastructure strains under such loads, often requiring costly standby power plants
Thermal storage systems like ice batteries offer a solution by shifting energy use away from peak times
• Despite installations at 4,000 sites worldwide, uptake remains low in the U.S., with only a small share of the 6 million commercial buildings equipped with such systems

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Reducing peak electricity demand limits the need for fossil-fuel-intensive power generation and infrastructure expansion
• Ice batteries and next-generation thermal storage solutions can significantly cut emissions associated with cooling, particularly as global temperatures rise and demand increases
• However, scaling remains a challenge due to energy-intensive freezing processes and technology costs — prompting research into more efficient thermal materials

⏭️ What's next: Researchers like Dr. Patrick Shamberger are exploring alternatives that use modified water-based materials to store thermal energy at higher temperatures, potentially improving efficiency and suitability for diverse climates
• Rising electricity costs — projected to reach a U.S. summer average of $784 — are likely to accelerate interest in cost-saving technologies
• Broader deployment in residential settings remains in early stages but is under active development

💬 One quote: “We don't want to build a whole bunch of excess power plants to just sit around… It's a lot of capital investment that doesn't get used,” — Dr. Patrick Shamberger of Texas A&M

📈 One stat: Air conditioning can account for more than 70% of electricity use during peak hours on the hottest days, according to the International Energy Agency

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