Innovation

Reducing and reusing

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Ever wonder what happens to the heat generated when electricity is made?

It’s wasted — just released into the atmosphere. Every day, heat is generated by burning coal, natural gas or oil to power everything from cars to giant power plants. And every day, 60 percent of the heat generated during those processes escapes and is simply lost.

That loss is exactly what reXorce Thermionics Inc. hopes to capitalize on. As companies across the globe look to become more energy efficient, reXorce is rolling out technology to make an easier transition.

The Akron-based technology developer has created a hybrid power generating system known as Thermafficient. The technology captures wasted heat and turns it into electricity or other usable energies — cooling, shaft work and stored energy — while simultaneously using environmentally friendly resources. In short, it extends fuel resources. Users expect an increase in power generating efficiency between 20 and 35 percent.

Michael Gurin, chief technology officer and CEO of reXorce, founded the company in 2007 as a way to impact how people and companies source, produce, distribute and consume thermal energy. Talk about the right idea at the right time. Governments are pushing finding renewable energy streams, and companies are looking to cut energy costs, both of which have unleashed an open market.

One focus for reXorce’s executive team is the industrial sector, which increasingly has sought waste heat recovery solutions to offset rising energy costs and manufacturing competition. U.S. industrial companies use one-third of the country’s total energy consumption. Plus, they face large energy losses compounded by scale of production, equipment inefficiency, and mechanical and thermal limitations.

Others believe in the marketing plan and the technology, too. ReXorce has raised more than $10 million in venture capital from investors like Cleveland-based JumpStart Inc. and through government grants. ReXorce also developed local and regional partners, companies with global reach and vision. Among the list is the University of Akron, Case Western Reserve University and European-based BASF, a chemical company.

ReXorce will work with the organizations as it continues to roll out projects in the pipeline and meet market needs.

After all, as reXorce tells it: Globally, when 10 trillion watts of energy are produced, an additional 15 trillion watts of energy are lost through heat.

HOW TO REACH: reXorce Thermionics Inc., (234) 542-4392 or www.rexorce.com