STONY BROOK, NY, December 10, 2020 – The Clean Energy Business Incubator Program (CEBIP) at Stony Brook University has brought its first seed company client into the marketplace,
a “graduation” illustrating that a company sparked by an idea and a technology can
build its prototype application and business plan through CEBIP’s guidance all the
way to commercialization. ThermoLift, Inc., is now manufacturing a heating and cooling heat pump system for heating, ventilation
and air-conditioning (HVAC) that can save up to 50 percent of normal energy costs.
CEBIP is funded by the New York State Research and Development Agency (NYSERDA). In
operation since October 2011, CEBIP provides assistance and resources for developers
of renewable and clean-energy technologies.
ThermoLift was founded by Paul Schwartz, Director of ThermoLift, and Prof. Dr.-Ing.
Peter Hofbauer, inventor of the ThermoLift technology, in 2012, its first year as
a CEBIP incubator company. Since that time, the patented TCHP™ system has been developed
and improved multiple times at ThermoLift’s Stony Brook University Advanced Energy
Research and Technology Center (AEC)-located laboratory. While an incubator company at CEBIP, ThermoLift raised millions
in investment capital before rolling out its commercialization plan and received some
$2 million in cumulative grant monies from NYSERDA, the Wells Fargo In2 incubator and utilities for company R&D.
At the Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center and surrounding a model of ThermoLift’s
pump for heating and cooling are, from left: Rebecca Leung, Deeksha Nanda, Paul Schwartz,
and Jon Haas of ThermoLift; and Dave Hamilton of Stony Brook’s Clean Energy Business
Incubator Program.
The company created the TCHP system by developing a new thermodynamic cycle, the Hofbauer
Cycle, to provide high efficiency heating, cooling and hot water into one machine
for commercial and residential HVAC systems. The potential for ThermoLift’s technology
extends into industrial applications including refrigeration, food processing, pharmaceutical
manufacture, cryogenics, liquefied natural gas and desalination.
During the first quarter of 2021, ThermoLift plans to complete upwards of up to 16
pilot installations of the unit. In 2022, it is hoping to complete around 100 installations
at locations such as convenience stores.
“CEBIP has helped guide ThermoLift from its inception, from a business standpoint
as well as with technological support from scientists, engineers and faculty affiliated
with the AEC and the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences (CEAS),” says Schwartz.
“We have the tools to achieve commercial success, and it is time for us to excel and
move forward.”
From the start of its relationship with ThermoLift, CEBIP provided technology experts
and fostered a relationship with Schwartz and faculty within the CEAS, particularly
with Jon Longtin, PhD, Associate Dean for Research and Entrepreneurship at the CEAS.
At their first official meeting in 2012, CEBIP introduced ThermoLift to the LI Angels
Network and established an immediate opportunity for their first capital raise of
$1.6 million.
“ThermoLift’s story as a CEBIP incubator company and its rise from what originally
was a two-man company in Paul’s basement is a remarkable one,” says Dave Hamilton,
Executive Director of CEBIP. “Paul and his team have enthusiastically worked closely
with our CEBIP professionals over the years, utilizing many of Stony Brook’s economic
development resources while achieving critical corporate and technology milestones
driving them toward commercialization.”
While no longer an incubator client of CEBIP, ThermoLift will continue to have its
research and corporate office within the AEC. It has opened a plant in Michigan to
roll out manufacturing of the ThermoLift systems. In total, the company now has 32
employees in New York and Michigan combined.
Stony Brook CEAS students have played a key role in the rise of ThermoLift and their
current status as an active company in the marketplace. Siddhartha Gadiraju, a CEAS
student working under Professor Longtin, wrote and published thermodynamic papers
on the company’s new technology as it was being developed and went on to pursue a
PhD in combustion energy. Upon graduation, Siddhartha was hired by ThermoLift. To
date the company has hired close to 20 Stony Brook students to fill their research,
development and manufacturing team.
To graduate from CEBIP, a client is required to meet all of the following conditions:
- Registered as a certified business entity (i.e., a corporation) in good standing.
- Secured an effective management team, including a Board of Directors.
- Secured necessary financing and resources to operate for one year post-graduation.
- Established evidence of product market fit and traction of customers.
- Developed an operating agreement and/or shareholder agreement that covers all aspects
of the business entity.
- Participated as an active physical or virtual client of CEBIP for a minimum of six
months.
About Stony Brook University:
Stony Brook University, widely regarded as a SUNY flagship, is going far beyond the
expectations of today’s public universities. With more than 26,000 students, 2,700
faculty members, over 200,000 alumni, an academic medical center and 18 NCAA Division
I athletic programs, it is one of only four University Center campuses in the State
University of New York (SUNY) system. The University embraces its mission to provide
comprehensive undergraduate, graduate, and professional education of the highest quality,
and has been ranked among the top 35 public universities in the nation by U.S. News
& World Report. Fostering a commitment to academic research and intellectual endeavors,
Stony Brook’s membership in the Association of American Universities (AAU) places
it among the top 65 research institutions in North America. The University’s distinguished
faculty have earned esteemed awards such as the Nobel Prize, Pulitzer Prize, Indianapolis
Prize for animal conservation, Abel Prize and the inaugural Breakthrough Prize in
Mathematics. Part of the management team of Brookhaven National Laboratory of the
U.S. Department of Energy, Stony Brook is one of only eight universities that has
a role in running a national laboratory. Providing economic growth for neighboring
communities and the wider geographic region, the University totals an impressive $7.23
billion in increased economic output on Long Island. Follow us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/stonybrooku/) and Twitter (@stonybrooku).
Source: Stony Brook University NEWS
