Dr. Kevin O Toole

Exergyn
Ireland

Abstract Title: Exergyn

Biography:

Co-founder and Managing Director at Exergyn, Kevin O’Toole is a born engineer who holds a Ph.D in Manufacturing and Design Engineering from the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT). He first launched Exergyn following extensive research around shape memory alloys (SMAs). Having been fully aware of their capabilities, he believed SMAs could be repurposed to help curb the impact of greenhouse gases, most notably, refrigerants. His research spanned four years, and it was in the middle of this period in 2009 that Kevin and his fellow researchers began working with Enterprise Ireland to form Exergyn. The company is on course to transform cooling and refrigeration systems across the globe, in the hopes of significantly reducing global greenhouse gas emissions.

Research Interest:

Exergyn is a leading clean-energy tech company based in Dublin, Ireland. The Irish-born business which aims to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions worldwide is in the process of developing accessible, groundbreaking technology which aims to combat pollutants caused by the cooling industry. The company is on a mission to combat one of the biggest problems facing the planet: refrigerant gas. Exergyn is currently developing the world’s first refrigerant-free heat pump, and have received equity investment from Carrier Global Corporation (NYSE:CARR) Over the past twelve years, Exergyn has been focused on designing and developing unique technologies featuring shape memory alloys (SMAs) for commercial use within HVAC systems to lower their environmental footprint. Made famous by NASA’s application of SMA’s as part of their Perseverance Mars Rover mission, SMAs are a specific mixture of metals (nickel and titanium) that change form depending on temperature, allowing for a wide range of industrial applications. Through using a solid-state SMA, Exergyn has the ability to exhibit zero global warming potential in comparison with refrigerant gases. In addition to this, its product will be accessible to commercial companies of all sizes. The company is swiftly becoming a leader within the heating, ventilation, air-conditioning and refrigeration (HVACR) space, with no other technologies offering such a performance combination whilst being environmentally friendly. Exergyn has over 100 patents worldwide and a team of experts in the industrial application of SMAs.