TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 02/17/14 -- Editors Note: There is a photo associated with this Press Release
http://www.icegeninc.com/">IceGen Inc., a Canadian cleantech manufacturing company, is generating up to 800 cubic meters (30,000 cubic feet) of snow each day for the ski jumping landing area and Nordic combined events in Sochi, which equals 15 cm (6 inches) covering a sidewalk 5 km (3 miles) long, to combat the warm temperatures Mother Nature has delivered at the bottom of the mountain.
Distinct from traditional snow canons used on alpine hills that can only make snow at 0 degrees C (32 degrees F) or colder, IceGen produces ice slurry to synthetically create snow that can be used at above freezing ambient and as warm as 20 degrees C (68 degrees F). This technology is critical to ensuring snow at the lower elevations, where ski jumping and Nordic combined events take place and the prospect of double-digit temperatures is an ongoing concern. The humid subtropical climate at the lower elevations, daytime temperatures have reached a high of 21 degrees C (70 degrees F).
"We are thrilled to be a part of this global sporting event; it's a huge accomplishment for us to be involved at Sochi, said Motti Einhorn, CEO for IceGen Inc. "It is our revolutionary innovation and support of my friend Lennart Brundin that allowed us win the bid at Sochi," continued Einhorn.
All Weather Snow
All weather snow is fairly new, with climate temperature increasing during the winter; snowmaking has become a challenge for ski resorts. IceGen's involvement with all weather snow started in 2009 when it successfully won the bid to supply generators to produce all weather snow for the Holmenkollen and Midtstubakken ski jumps in Oslo, Norway.
What makes IceGen is so unique is that produces a large quantity of quality snow. The compact size and structure of device allows it to be mobile, easily transporting it to locations where needed, in comparison to that of other solutions that require a costly large building-like infrastructure.
"My job was to secure snow for the Olympics, which required careful architecture and a lot of innovation with many different solutions," said Mikko Martianen, CEO for Snow Secure Inc. "All-weather snow technology is very effective solution for the above freezing ambient. Temperatures soared as high as 21 degrees C (70 degrees F) at Sochi the past week, but the all-weather solution continued to produce fresh white snow crystals, even in this these unconventional weather conditions," added Martianen.
Since November 2012, IceGen has partnered with Finnish snow technology company, SnowTek, to prepare for these upcoming competitions in Sochi. Behind the scenes, the companies have quietly been working to create superb conditions for these two events and bolster Mother Nature's bounty. IceGen is the manufacturer and supplier of slurry ice generator and SnowTek packaged the system with a chiller in a trailer that can be easily moved to various locations, where needed, to provide on-the-spot support and create ideal conditions for the athletes. Together, they formed SnowGen, a mobile technology unit that creates snow specifications for ski jumping and Nordic combined.
"It is exciting to partner with IceGen at the world's largest winter sporting events," said Hannu Pesonen, of Snowtek. "Snowmaking is a real science and IceGen's equipment can help us create the conditions that skiers and snowboarders desire when they're competing in the most important race of their career."
IceGen's Innovation
Invented by Mikhail Mogilevsky, a Russian immigrant to Canada, IceGen's engineers were among the first to commercialize slurry ice. Using a plate heat exchanger, IceGen can produce 100 times more slurry per day that other competing technologies.
IceGen's unique patented technology offers some distinct benefits beyond snow making, including juice crystallization, fish/meat storage, supermarket displays and thermal storage:
-- Uses ice in lieu of refrigeration -- Allows peak shifting of energy and can produce energy at off peak times -- Requires minimal maintenance
About IceGen Inc.
IceGen Inc, a Toronto based company is a leading provider of innovative slurry ice production systems and cooling applications. IceGen's multi-patented slurry ice production method enables a variety of value-add applications in industries such as Fishing, Vegetable Processing, Citrus Production and Transportation, Refrigeration, HVAC and snow production. IceGen delivers cost effective cooling and thermal storage while delivering dramatic energy consumption reduction, environmental improvement, decreased greenhouse gas emissions and production of carbon credits. IceGen enables thermal storage using slurry ice to enable utilities or large campuses to shift peak energy consumption to reduce operating costs. The solution does so by circulating the latent heat itself as a culling medium, circulating slurry ice in coils.
Founded on over 40 years of work in Slurry Ice technologies and generators, IceGen holds numerous worldwide patents and with their Revolutionary Scrape Plate Heat Exchanger Technology, the company is winning accolades and converts worldwide. IceGen can be found on the worldwide web at www.icegeninc.com.
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Contacts:
Leslie Taschner
IceGen Inc.
leslie.taschner@icegeninc.com
647-638-2429
www.icegeninc.com
