It is a colossal market in the making. Bill Gates could not decently miss it. At a time when he is investing in all directions in technological solutions, moreover sometimes disputed, in order to fight against climate change, the founder of Microsoft has this time set his sights on Blue Frontier, a young shoot in search of solutions air conditioning systems that are more virtuous for the climate.
The American billionaire has just bet a whopping 20 million dollars (19.46 million euros), via his Breakthrough Energy Ventures fund, on this American start-up. According to the International Energy Agency, approximately 2 billion air conditioners are in service worldwide today. And this stock could, as heat waves intensify, grow by more than 50% over the next ten years.
Disturbing scenario
A worrying scenario, especially since, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (Golden, Colorado) and the Palo Alto Research Center (California), air conditioning is already responsible for nearly 4% of greenhouse gas emissions. tight. To try to reduce this impact, Blue Frontier engineers are counting on a new evaporative cooling system, capable of removing humidity from the air more efficiently than conventional fluids, which are harmful to the ozone layer.
While they still use some of these gases – with the exception of chlorofluorocarbons, which many countries have banned – they say they do so in much lower quantities. In addition, this solution promotes a different storage system, which should allow it to consume less electricity during peak periods.
“We are currently counting on a reduction in CO2 equivalent emissions2 3 to 5 tons each year per Blue Frontier air conditioning unit »said John Hingley, vice president of operations. Before specifying that this reduction will come from both the reduction of emissions in connection with energy savings, and the lower use of refrigerants. These new air conditioners could be marketed to a limited number of customers in 2023 and 2024, before being launched on a larger scale in 2025. However, they will not make it possible to save on sobriety.