Housing
Dec. 5, 2024—Stash Energy credits participation in the Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN2) with shaving an entire year off the journey to get their tech into the market.
“IN2 allowed us to accelerate the engineering and modeling work that we needed done,” Dan Curwin, VP of market development, said. “We normally need one year for a full testing cycle, but we were able to condense that with IN2’s help.”
Stash Energy develops heat pump systems with a unique twist: built-in thermal energy storage. A heat pump can heat or cool a building through electricity only, instead of the traditional gas-powered furnaces and HVAC systems.
“Heat pumps are the most efficient way to heat and cool your home electrically, and their popularity is skyrocketing in North America and Europe,” Curwin said. “The challenge then becomes that utilities are hit with these massive spikes in the morning and in the evening. Our product is able to store energy during off-peak hours, like overnight or the middle of the day, and then use that when the utility grid faces high demand.”
Stash Energy’s unique mini-split heat pump has built-in thermal energy storage with a smart grid and smart home-ready thermostat. Photo from Stash Energy
Stash Energy’s thermal energy storage is a phase-change material, meaning it moves between solid and liquid forms. At room temperature, the salt-based hydrate is solid. The heat pump melts that salt into a liquid, which stores energy for both heating and air conditioning during peak hours. As the liquid salt dispenses the energy, it turns back into a solid, when it can charge up again during off-peak hours. Curwin says the system can melt the solid form two or three times a day.
“Instead of everyone demanding electricity at the same time, we’re able to shift the demand to off-peak hours,” he said. “We’re the only company that’s using phase-change materials in an air-to-air system.”
Many utilities have plans about how the grid will operate once more buildings and homes use heat pumps, but Curwin says Stash Energy has the technology to help utilities manage this new electricity demand now.
Recognizing the importance of meeting both heating and cooling needs, Stash Energy expanded its focus during IN2. The Canadian company joined Cohort 8 in 2021 with initial designs only for heating. The work at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) inspired the diversification to air conditioning.
“IN2 helped us figure out what design changes we needed to target air conditioning markets,” Curwin said. “Addressing the two different markets didn’t require any grand redesign for our system, but it did require very specific modeling work from NREL.”
Thanks to IN2, Stash Energy will begin pilots of its air conditioning units in the summer of 2025, targeting areas where the power grid is often pushed to its limit. It plans to start customer sales in 2026 and work directly with HVAC distributors to integrate the technology into existing systems. According to NREL, Air conditioning produces around 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Curwin says IN2 continues to help the company make connections and explore areas for growth.
“IN2 is competitive and there’s a lot of validation with getting into the program. It’s looked positively on by investors, utilities, and governments,” Curwin said. “Being able to work with the NREL staff is also a huge bonus. The expertise is unmatched, and the program allows for the resources to scope out a multiyear project. It’s not just a science experiment, it’s engineering work that’s going to help accelerate the product launch.”
