US-based R&D startup Elkhorn Products is a new name in the HVAC&R industry with an ambitious goal: to use its natural refrigerant-based technologies to eliminate the industry’s “massive problems” – namely excessive energy consumption and the use of high GWP refrigerants.

“We want to reduce direct and indirect (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) emissions by 90%,” said Heather Jones, CEO of Elkhorn, in a recent interview with NaturalRefrigerants.com. “We want to challenge the stagnant status quo and take over the industry with modern, responsible technology.”

Jones is a software developer by profession, but told NaturalRefrigerants.com that she has deep roots in refrigeration.

“I grew up around refrigeration,” Jones said. “I soldered my first copper when I was five at a RSES (Refrigeration Service Engineers Society) family picnic and watched my dad’s programmer friend build his patented product that he sold to Emerson.”

Jones said her company’s patent-pending technology – a water (R718)-based refrigeration cycle – has the potential to replace traditional vapor compression, allowing this “brand new” technology to serve a significant portion of the HVAC&R market, she said.

In addition to developing new technologies, Elkhorn is also committed to promoting their widespread adoption, she added. The company will license its creations to manufacturers to create new product lines and plans to work with manufacturers and engineers to develop new systems.

Elkhorn is also using its technology to develop its own systems and components. The first of these systems are the Cirrus and Stratus devices. The company will use these products as proof of concept and demand.

Jones talked more about these products and provided insight into the goals and plans of the company, which is currently raising $4 million (€3.64 million) in pre-funding, in partnership with NaturalRefrigerants.com.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Can you tell us more about your water-based cooling circuit?

Heather Jones: Our patent-pending water-based cooling cycle, which we call “hydroevaporation,” is a completely new approach. It eliminates the vapor compression cycle, which adds about 25% more heat to a system, meaning all systems have to be 25% larger and work 25% harder.

By using water as a coolant, we take advantage of its high latent heat of vaporization. This cycle mimics the Earth’s natural water cycle – a closed system in which water evaporates and condenses to facilitate cooling. This not only reduces energy consumption and system complexity, but also eliminates the emissions associated with traditional coolants.

What applications is the Elkhorn Cirrus unit designed for?

HJ: Elkhorn Cirrus is our flagship water-based system for medium to high temperature commercial and industrial space cooling. It is a complete system that is easy to install and maintain and offers cooling capacities from several tons to hundreds of tons. This flexibility makes it suitable for both small commercial installations and large industrial operations such as factories, warehouses and data centers. It is even portable, making it suitable for rentals and emergency use.

Cirrus is not a precision air conditioner. It is a so-called “Mass Heat Trim” (MHT) solution that reduces a large part of the temperature at the top.

Imagine you work in a hot factory, a building that isn’t designed for standard industrial-sized air conditioning, and you come into the factory one day expecting it to be 100°F (37.8°C), but it’s 85°F (29.4°C). You don’t care if it’s 82°F (27.8°C) or 87°F (30.6°C); you’re just glad it’s not 100°F. This low-risk, underserved market provides a perfect entry point for our technologies because the refrigeration industry in general is highly regulated and has standardized expectations. We can perfect this system and apply our learnings to more precise applications of our revolutionary new technology.

In addition to the MHT variant, the Cirrus range includes an HVAC model that focuses on commercial comfort cooling. Cirrus HVAC is a cost-effective, high-impact retrofit for high-rise cooling systems, typically chillers, that helps alleviate urban heat island problems. This unit removes the centrifugal compressor and reuses many parts of the chiller. We also have two other variants in development.

Can you tell us more about your product Elkhorn Stratus?

HJ: Elkhorn Stratus is designed as an add-on technology for existing and new CO₂ systems (R744). We call it a “plug-and-play” upgrade for CO2 cascade systems. It is designed to improve the performance of CO₂ refrigeration and heat pump systems, especially at high ambient temperatures.

Elkhorn Stratus delivers subcritical operation, improving efficiency and reliability at a fraction of the cost of existing subcooling solutions. By incorporating this technology, CO₂ systems can achieve higher operating efficiency and lower energy consumption, even in demanding climates. Stratus can be used in a variety of CO₂-based commercial refrigeration applications, including supermarkets and cold storage.

What stage of development are these products at?

HJ: The Elkhorn Cirrus is in the final stages of development, with nine prototypes leading to a ready-to-use system. The next prototypes will test new evaporator designs to fully exploit the efficiency gains with water. It is a difficult technology to master, but it will provide valuable learnings for the Stratus, which requires more precision and will therefore benefit from testing on the Cirrus.

We are also in discussions with potential partners for pilot installations and real-world demonstrations that will help us further refine our products before launch.