WASHINGTON, March 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- New York-based company ThermoLift has won the 2014 Ultra-Light Startup's Future Energy Competition held Feb. 24^th at the ARPA-E Energy Summit (www.arpa-e.energy.gov) near Washington D.C., beating out more than 200 competitors.

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ThermoLift's highly efficient natural gas-driven thermal air conditioner and heat pump has the potential to revolutionize the HVAC industry by reducing carbon footprint at competitively low costs. For detailed information about the design, visit www.tm-lift.com.

The Future Energy Competition highlights clean-tech industries, such as ThermoLift, which are dedicated to providing solutions towards the world's energy challenges. Possible investors include well-known corporations such as Shell International, providing financing opportunities for funding for research and business start-ups.

The competition began with more than 200 innovative energy entrepreneurs.  ThermoLift was one of eight companies selected for the final competition. The event took place at the Gaylord Convention Center in National Harbor, Md. Winners get an invitation to participate in the Cleantech Open Northeast, as well as other benefits.

"Just the opportunity to address the ARPA-E conference as a company on stage was a win…but then to actually win the competition! It was a huge accomplishment for ThermoLift, the DOE, NYSERDA, and New York State.  We expect a 30-50% reduction in fuel consumption in residential and commercial heating and cooling applications with one device at a lower acquisition cost." says CEO Paul Schwartz.

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) awarded a respective $483,000 and $750,000 to ThermoLift last year.  With initial investors including former Chairman of U.S. National Grid, Robert Catell, the company is developing a natural gas-driven heat-pump/air conditioner/water heater with the intent of replacing current HVAC and Domestic Hot Water systems in residential and commercial buildings. This design uses the chemical energy stored in natural gas, along with "renewable" thermal energy from the surrounding environment for significant energy efficiency improvements.

"NYSERDA congratulates ThermoLift on this recognition of its innovative energy efficient technology," said John B. Rhodes, President and CEO, NYSERDA.  "Governor Cuomo's support of advanced building technologies is yielding substantial energy savings in buildings across the state while at the same time stimulating the state's clean energy economy."

ThermoLift collaborates with Stony Brook University, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and National Grid.  Most recently, ThermoLift was also the winner of the 2013 Defense Energy Technology Challenge and presented at the Defense Energy Summit.

ThermoLift, Inc. operates out of Stony Brook University's Advanced Energy and Research Technology Center (AERTC) on Long Island, New York.  ThermoLift has built a consortium of support from key leaders in the energy industry and is a member of the Clean Energy Business Incubator Program (CEBIP) at Stony Brook University and the China Lake High Tech Consortium.

SOURCE ThermoLift Inc.