Zions GOED 2019

A Case Study: Utah and Israel Companies Working Together

Interview with Ory Zik, CEO of Qnergy:

This company’s story not only spans across two continents but two centuries. The Stirling engine was first patented in 1816 in Scotland. Some of the defense capabilities were unlocked in the 1970s in Israel by the Israeli company, Ricor. Israel had a need for cooling technology in their night vision goggles. It just happened that the mechanics of the Stirling thermal cycle had some parallels. The Stirling engine is a closed-cycle system that uses an external heat source to generate electricity. Quickly dominating the niche defense market, Ricor was looking to expand. A Utah company that was trying to incorporate Stirling technology into solar concentrators went bankrupt, and this is when Ricor bought the assets to start up Qnergy.
Ory on how he got involved with Qnergy:
“I grew up in Israel, and have a Ph.D. in physics. After school I became a technology entrepreneur. I moved to the U.S. with a company called QuantomiX that I founded in Israel. We were the first to image live cells in the electron microscope. In 2017 I visited Qnergy and was hugely impressed by the team and technology. For decades I heard people in the energy sector talking about the potential of the Striling engine and here is a stealthy company that actually solved all the key challenges. I was excited to receive an offer to lead the company to commercial success.”
Utah was the perfect location for this project due to a combination of engineering and manufacturing. This is where a combination of Israeli engineers and Utah innovators set to the task of creating “the PowerGen” the first and only Stirling-based stand-alone power generator. Reliability and safety are ingrained into Qnergy’s culture. They use the design “with test” method while designing products to provide their customers with no-maintenance, high-reliability, and long-life systems. The I.J. and Jeanne Wagner Jewish Community Center were looking to cut operating costs and become more environmentally friendly. Qnergy’s solution was the SmartBoiler. In their JCC case study, they stated, “The SmartBoiler is designed to efficiently heat the center’s indoor swimming pool and also generates free and clean electricity. The SmartBoiler also lowers the amount of natural gas consumed by the JCC” The JCC’s original boiler rarely has to run now and efficiency was increased by 10%. The SmartBoiler has saved the center hundreds of dollars that they can now direct towards various programs for members. Qnergyis a rapidly expanding company whose first quarter of 2019 exceeded its entirety of 2018. They’re dedicated to clean reliable energy and the perfect example of the innovations Utah and Israel can create together.