7AC Technologies

7AC Technologies, founded in March 2009 by Peter Vandermeulen, developed a disruptive liquid desiccant-based air conditioning technology aimed at significantly reducing electricity consumption in the HVAC market. Vandermeulen, who served as the company's CTO, brought a background in physics and business administration, along with prior entrepreneurial success, having founded BlueShift Technologies and raised substantial venture capital. His experience also includes growing a business unit at Brooks Automation from $2.5 million to $60 million and helping design a highly successful product at Varian Ion Implant Systems.

The company's core innovation is an all-plastic, membrane-isolated plate technology that uses a liquid desiccant (a salt solution) to cool and dehumidify air in a single, highly efficient step. This process avoids the need to overcool air to remove humidity, a major inefficiency in conventional vapor compression systems, and circumvents the corrosion issues that have historically plagued liquid desiccant approaches. The system, designed for commercial and industrial buildings, promised energy savings of up to 80% compared to traditional HVAC technologies. The technology is modular and can be integrated into equipment from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), positioning 7AC as a key solution provider for manufacturers addressing new environmental regulations.

Jed Swan joined the board in 2010 and took over as CEO in early 2013. His background in investment management at Goldman Sachs and experience with The Swan Group, an international HVAC and water systems distributor, provided valuable strategic and operational leadership. The company attracted significant venture capital, raising $28.5M over multiple rounds from investors including 3M New Ventures, Clean Energy Venture Group, and the Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator. A key milestone was the acquisition of 7AC Technologies by Emerson in November 2020, a major engineering and technology company. Emerson had been collaborating with 7AC to commercialize the technology, and the acquisition integrated 7AC's system into Emerson's broader portfolio of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning solutions for commercial and residential markets.

Keywords: liquid desiccant, HVAC technology, energy efficiency, commercial air conditioning, industrial HVAC, cleantech, membrane technology, dehumidification, sustainable cooling, building technology, air management, Peter Vandermeulen, Jed Swan, Emerson Electric, all-plastic heat exchanger, energy savings, waste heat utilization, green building, climate tech, building codes