Californian companies Axiom Exergy and Clima-Tech are to deploy the Axiom Cloud in more than 200 supermarkets. The platform applies artificial intelligence (AI) and the IoT to grocery refrigeration systems to solve energy and maintenance problems.

The agreement sees Clima-Tech become a preferred reseller and installer of the Axiom Cloud platform, and plans to deploy it in 200 or more supermarkets in the next few years. Clima-Tech provides refrigeration system installation, operation and maintenance services to its customers. The Axiom Cloud’s Virtual Technician service helps maintenance companies provide higher quality service at lower prices by identifying and fixing problems before they become expensive emergencies.

AI and the IoT have already transformed many industries, such as automotive, aviation and power generation. Until now, the refrigeration industry has not taken advantage of the opportunities that come with intelligent software and cloud computing. Clima-Tech plans to deploy the Axiom Cloud platform to grocery stores with these opportunities in mind.

“We will resell, install and commission the Axiom Cloud as a stand-alone product for grocery stores across our footprint whether or not we provide these stores with other maintenance services,” said Ramez Naguib, CEO of Clima-Tech. “Almost every grocery store can benefit from this technology whether they handle their maintenance in-house or through maintenance contractors. We are especially excited to combine Axiom’s Virtual Technician software with our large team of field technicians so that we can provide significantly better maintenance at lower costs to our customers.”

The Axiom Cloud platform can be deployed in a grocery store within a single day. It connects with existing control systems and sensors rather than adding new ones, it doesn’t require any changes to existing operation, and it often pays for itself in the first year of operation. It will be available in the future for other buildings with central refrigeration systems such as cold storage warehouses, food processing plants and convenience stores.

Currently, users can subscribe to two automated services through the Axiom Cloud platform:

Virtual Technician: The Axiom Cloud leverages AI and machine learning to predict equipment failures before they occur and autonomously improve system energy efficiency and performance over time.
Virtual Battery: The Axiom Cloud transforms frozen inventory into a thermal battery, thus providing the same benefits as an intelligent electrochemical battery – demand charge management, demand response and so on – without the expensive hardware.
Axiom Exergy initially developed the software to operate its Refrigeration Battery product, which adds thermal storage capacity to existing commercial refrigeration systems. The company then realised that the software had standalone value and began developing additional features that leverage AI to deliver benefits for those with large cooling loads.

“The Axiom team developed the Virtual Technician service accidentally,” said Amrit Robbins, CEO of Axiom Exergy. “Our engineers realised that our cloud-based digital twin models can be used to predict catastrophic refrigeration failures before they occur and diagnose the root causes. Our customers were amazed when the events we predicted occurred just like we said they would. We are excited to partner with Clima-Tech so that more grocery stores can benefit from this new predictive maintenance paradigm.”

Axiom Exergy is a technology company based in Richmond, California, with investors that include Shell Ventures, Evergy Ventures and former Tesla CTO JB Straubel. It was founded in 2015 by Amrit Robbins and Anthony Diamond.

Clima-Tech was established in 2002 and is a provider of refrigeration and HVAC maintenance and installation services. It serves more than 1000 commercial and light industrial buildings across California, Nevada, Arizona and Texas.