If you’re lucky enough to be staying at the Beverly Hilton or the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills hotels any time soon, your green conscience can rest clean – the two luxury hotels are now cutting down on fossil fuels and reducing carbon emissions using an Israeli technology based on ice.
Israeli startup Nostromo Energy has a solution that stores energy in modular ice capsules installed on the roof, walls or basements of commercial and industrial buildings and then directs it to cool down commercial spaces, a procedure that usually accounts for up to 45 percent of global power demand during peak hours.
The system uses power from the grid at times when renewable energy levels are high to freeze water into ice and then uses that ice in the late afternoon and evening, when power demand reaches its highest levels, to provide energy for cooling instead of using fossil-based energy from the grid.
The 1.4 megawatt-hour energy storage system, called IceBrick, has been installed inside the Beverly Hilton and will also serve the adjacent Waldorf Astoria. It is set to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 150 to 200 metric tons annually – more than 5,000 metric tons for the lifetime of the system – as well as supply energy for cooling at less than half its current cost.
“We are thrilled that ownership of leading brand hotels such as the Beverly Hilton and Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills are adopting Nostromo’s energy storage technology, demonstrating how buildings can play a significant role in integrating renewables and improving resilience of the grid in California and nationwide, while cutting their energy costs,” said Nostromo CEO Yoram Ashery.
“We look forward to partnering with more like-minded ownership and management of commercial buildings, in the hospitality realm and other sectors.”