Revolutionising air conditioning with green technology

This article is brought to you in association with EBRD.

Based in Chisinau, Moldova, EnergySolaris is a deep tech start-up which is active in the climate technology and advanced manufacturing sectors and dedicated to the conception, development and implementation of innovative solutions aimed at addressing specific environmental challenges.

The company’s main focus is currently its energy-efficient, green air cooling technology, which it hopes will prove to be a breakthrough innovation in Moldova and beyond.

Through the EBRD’s Star Venture programme, supported by the European Union, we have introduced the company to valuable networks, mentors and funding opportunities, and assisted with prototype designs, all helping to make its product ready for market.

Early success and reinvention

Although the company is now in the cooling space, this wasn’t always so. Co-founder Cristina Cojocaru-Parsons says, “We initially started EnergySolaris to develop more efficient solar air heating technology and reduce the cost of heating for Moldovans.” This was against the backdrop of Russia’s war on Ukraine and the subsequent energy crisis.

Cristina says, “Our first independently-tested prototype outperformed the market leaders, but when we spoke with venture capital investors, we realised the global market for solar air heating wasn’t large enough and they were more interested in the potential for green cooling.”

As this was also a more prescient concern from a planetary perspective, the company switched its attention to cooling and began work on their next product accordingly.

Sustainable cooling for homes and businesses

The company’s attention is now focused on bringing its next prototype to the market.

Named AirSolaris COOL, it is expected to be the first affordable and ten times greener air cooling and dehumidification solution, targeted primarily at residential buildings in hot and humid regions.

According to Cristina, “AirSolaris COOL should deliver the most affordable, round-the-clock solar cooling solution, powered solely by energy from the sun thanks to its multiple solar, cooling and energy storage innovations. It is expected to provide the most electrically efficient ventilation air conditioning on the market, also enabling a low lifetime cost for commercial buildings and food cold chain applications.”

A cool use for deep tech

EnergySolaris is considered a deep tech start-up, which refers to ventures that develop innovative solutions based on substantial scientific or engineering challenges. These innovations often involve cutting-edge technology in fields that require significant research and development, distinguished by their potential to create profound and long-lasting impact, driving transformative changes in industries and society.

“Fundraising for deep tech innovations, especially at an early stage of developing and building a sophisticated physical product, is very difficult, because it is more capital-intensive and high-risk,” says Cristina. “Linked to investment attraction is the challenge of attracting the right people with relevant expertise and commitment to an early-stage deep tech start-up. Overcoming prejudices about Moldova also wasn’t easy. Moldova isn’t known for innovation in deep tech – unlike, say, Germany, Switzerland or the USA – so people tend to dismiss the possibility,” she adds.

Cristina’s advice for other prospective deep tech entrepreneurs is to learn from technical experts in their relevant fields and, most importantly, to believe in yourself, question assumptions, imagine possibilities and be persistent.

EBRD Star Venture support

The company applied for the EBRD’s Star Venture programme, which it says provided a unique opportunity to access the significant level of support they needed to develop their business in a market where funding for deep tech and hardware was lacking.

“Our need was especially acute in the ‘catch-22’ context, where we needed funds to develop a prototype, but to access private funds we needed a prototype,” Cristina explains. “This is why Star Venture has proven to be the most relevant support programme addressing the needs of Moldovan start-ups.

“Crucially, with the grant and travel funding support of the programme, we’ve been able to access the highly specialised, world-class scientific and industrial design expertise we needed to rapidly advance our designs and complete and test our first cooling prototype.”

Keeping us cool as the planet gets warmer

With increasing consciousness of the impact of conventional air conditioning on the climate, twinned with the fact that the hotter the planet gets, the more cooling we will need globally, EnergySolaris’s entry into this space is timely.

In Cristina’s words: “We have no choice: cooling must become green and ultra-efficient if the world is to end this vicious circle.” This is clearly a catalyst and motivation for working on what she believes will be the world’s most efficient air conditioning unit.

The prototype has already shown highly impressive test results and Cristina plans to attract grants and raise the investments needed to further develop her solar cooling system, hire more key people and begin commercial pilots in subtropical areas.

To that end, the company is targeting the growing Asia–Pacific markets through their subsidiary in Australia, Corellian Technologies, as they currently view the need for affordable cooling in that region as the most pressing.

With hopes to start scaling up the business as soon as their prototype is ready for market, it sounds like ultra-efficient, eco-friendly cooling could soon be coming to a home near you!