Maxwell™

Maxwell™ is an engineered suspension of sub-micron aluminum oxide particles in a base fluid of water or water/glycol (“nanofluid”). Maxwell™ is a drop-in additive for cooling and heating systems, that works by enhancing heat transfer and thereby significantly reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions. Maxwell™ is named after James Clerk Maxwell the pioneering Scottish scientist who in the late 19th Century discovered that adding metallic particles to water improved thermal energy transfer, thus creating the world’s first heat transfer fluid. Over a century later, Maxwell™ is our patented implementation of this discovery, allowing systems using closed hydronic loops to benefit from the thermal properties of stable suspensions of metallic nanoparticles.

Water (or a water/glycol mix) is circulated from the chiller in a closed evaporator loop to Air Handling UJnits (‘AHU’). Maxwell™ increases the transfer of heat in the chiller evaporation cycle, reducing compressor “lift” or work and thus, the consumption of electrical energy. Maxwell™ also increases thermal energy transfer in the AHU coils, which allows for higher chilled water set points, and lower fluid and air flow rates through pumps and fans, reducing their electrical power consumption. Maxwell™ can also be used in a closed condenser circuit but not with an open cooling tower.