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Amazon bets Nobel Prize-based dehumidification can cut its energy use

Published

6 months ago

May 5, 2026

It’s not just you: restaurants, malls, and offices on steamy summer days really are kept colder than necessary. Air conditioning is as much about dehumidification as it is about cooling, especially in hot, humid climates like the U.S. South, where buildings can be fertile ground for hazardous molds.

“The reason they blast the air conditioner so much is because they’re trying to reduce the humidity,” Sorin Grama, co-founder and CEO of Transaera, told TechCrunch. “In some cases in commercial buildings, the air is so cold that they have to reheat it back up.”

So Transaera has developed a new type of ventilation unit that, the company says, is significantly more efficient than existing dehumidification techniques, saving users energy and money.

Amazon, which has been testing the unit for several months in Houston, recently signed on as a customer. Other companies are following suit, to the point where Transaera now has “nine figures” worth of purchasing targets from customers, Grama said. For Amazon, the purchase reserves capacity over the next three years.

“Amazon is considering this a design solution,” he said. “Once they find a solution that works, they put that into their design standard and replicate it across their building stock.”

The device, known as a dedicated outdoor air system (DOAS), can keep the air inside commercial buildings fresh while also lightening the load on the AC. It can remove 100 pounds of water from the air every hour, meaning the AC doesn’t have to run as hard.

The idea of a DOAS isn’t new, but Transaera says its unit is up to twice as efficient at removing moisture as existing systems.

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Transaera’s secret sauce is a desiccant that coats a six-foot wheel which slowly spins inside each of its units. “It’s like silica gel on steroids.” Grama said. The company won’t disclose the specific desiccant, but it’s based on a class of materials that won its discoverers a Nobel Prize in 2025.

As air passes into the unit, the desiccant draws moisture out of the air, which then passes through a heat exchanger before being dispersed into the building. Stale air is drawn out of the building along with heat from the heat exchanger, which flows through the moisture-saturated wheel. The heat from that air releases the moisture from the desiccant so it can be exhausted outside.

Amazon said Transaera’s DOAS units will help the company reduce its energy use and help it on its path toward net-zero carbon emissions by 2040.

Transaera is working with existing manufacturers, including those in the U.S., to build the device. Its proprietary desiccant system slots into industry-standard commercial HVAC units. “It’s a like-for-like replacement of a legacy unit,” Grama said. “I think that’s what’s driving this demand — it’s an easy replacement.”

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Related Topics:Amazon bets cut dehumidification Energy Nobel Prizebased

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“Brazil Must Be Ready for Nigeria” — SSA Adeboye Hails Flamingos, Backs Girls for Historic World Cup Final

Published

18 minutes ago

November 2, 2026

PlateauReports

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Grassroots Sports Development, Hon. Adeyinka Anthony Adeboye, has congratulated Nigeria’s Flamingos on their dramatic 1-0 victory over Venezuela in the quarter-finals of the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco, expressing confidence that the team can overcome Brazil and reach a historic final.

An 89th-minute penalty converted by A. Oduntan secured Nigeria’s semi-final ticket, extending the Flamingos’ winning streak to four matches following victories over Puerto Rico, North Korea and Mexico.

Adeboye, who recently travelled to Morocco to personally support the team, described the performance as another demonstration of the remarkable fighting spirit, discipline and determination of Nigeria’s young female footballers.

“These girls are too good! Their fighting spirit is exceptional, and what they have achieved so far deserves national recognition. They have shown that Nigerian football has a very bright future,” Adeboye stated.

Looking ahead to Wednesday’s semi-final against Brazil, the Presidential aide challenged the Flamingos to maintain their confidence and approach the encounter without fear.

“Brazil must be ready for Nigeria. We respect their football pedigree, but our girls have demonstrated that they can compete with the best. They are just one victory away from making history, and I strongly believe they can reach the final,” he added.

Adeboye commended head coach Hakeem Busari and his technical crew for the team’s remarkable recovery following their opening defeat to Poland.

He stressed that the Flamingos’ achievements reinforce the need for sustained investment in grassroots sports, particularly girls’ football, talent identification and structured youth development.

According to him, the forthcoming National Grassroots Sports Development Summit, scheduled for November 18–19 at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, will provide an important platform for strengthening opportunities for emerging Nigerian athletes.

“These girls represent the future we are working to build. We must create an environment where every talented Nigerian child can develop and succeed,” he said.

Adeboye urged Nigerians to rally behind the Flamingos as they pursue their first-ever World Cup final appearance.

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OpenAI might rebrand its data centers as ‘AI compute campuses’

Published

1 hour ago

November 2, 2026

PlateauReports

Data centers are deeply unpopular. But what if we called them something else?

Axios reports that OpenAI is preparing a “PR blitz” for after the midterm elections on Tuesday, as Democrats seem likely to win back the House of Representatives, and possibly the Senate, too.

The company’s chief global affairs officer Chris Lehane told Axios that the midterms will be “a bit of a movie trailer for what you’re going to see in 2028,” when he expects AI to be “the issue” in the presidential election.

So OpenAI is to influence the AI debate moving forward, with Lehane discussing several proposals, including the development of AI “speed limits”; finding ways to help people see AI as empowering them in their daily lives; pushing the U.S. to take a role in developing global standards — and yes, rebranding data centers as “AI compute campuses.”

Lehane also described the conversation around data centers (a debate that has pushed Amazon and Microsoft to say they will no longer use NDAs in their negotiations with local governments) as “good and healthy.”

“Communities should hold companies responsible and accountable so they really and truly get a transformative benefit from these projects,” he said.