Refrigerated display case specialist Hillphoenix Inc. is partnering with the makers of a “smart” battery for refrigeration systems.

Conyers, Ga.-based Hillphoenix’s deal with Richmond, Calif.-based Axiom Energy will allow the two companies to pool their technology, sales and marketing efforts in their shared goal of providing environmentally responsible cooling solutions, according to a news release.

Axiom recently installed its first Refrigeration Battery at a Whole Foods Market in Los Altos, Calif., and is in the process of installing another at a San Diego Walmart. The company has a $5 million contract with energy giant Con Edison.  

The Refrigeration Battery is designed to decrease stores’ energy costs by storing cooling capacity at night, when energy costs are low, by freezing tanks of salt water. In the afternoon, when electricity prices peak, the battery operates like a normal battery. The Refrigeration Battery can charge and discharge 1040kWh of load for up to 10 hours a day and has an estimated lifespan of 25 years.

Given Hillphoenix’s technology portfolio and the success of its energy efficiency group, AMS, partnering with Axiom was a natural fit, says Eduardo Navarro, Hillphoenix’s senior vice president.

"As a pioneer in designing environmentally-sustainable refrigeration systems, we've removed an equivalent of 5.1 billion pounds of harmful emissions over a two-decade period,” he says. “Axiom's development of its Refrigeration Battery technology shares the innovative spirit that guides Hillphoenix.  We’re excited by the opportunity to work with Axiom in offering high reliability / low operating cost refrigeration solutions to customers."

In addition to refrigerated display cases for instore and other grocery store uses, Hillphoenix makes commercial and industrial refrigeration systems and integrated power distribution systems.