Center for Environmental Energy Engineering

Name

Center for Environmental Energy Engineering

Legal name

Center for Environmental Energy Engineering

Website

https://ceee.umd.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

HVAC&R Research and Development

NAICS

Engineering Services (541330), Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services (5413)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Testing Laboratories (8734), Air-Cond & Warm Air Heatg Equip & Comm & Indl Refrig Equip (3585)

akta.pro primary industry

Environmental, Health & Safety / Sustainability (EHS, Environmental Compliance CE) (EDAAALAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Engineering & Technical Professions (PE, Engineering CPD) (EDAAALAF), Leak Detection, Emissions & LDAR Testing (OGI, methane, fugitive emissions) (EUAEAHAL)

Keywords

• HVAC&R research
• Energy efficiency engineering
• Refrigeration systems
• Heat exchanger design
• Building energy systems

Headquarters

HQ city

College Park

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Industry Consortium Memberships: CEEE operates three research consortia (Energy Efficiency and Heat Pumps, Advanced Heat Exchangers and Process Intensification, Modeling and Optimization) where industry sponsors pay membership fees to access research, collaborate with faculty, and receive early access to innovations
2. Government Research Grants: Federal funding from DOE, NSF, and other agencies supporting specific research projects on heat pumps, refrigerants, and energy efficiency technologies
3. Graduate Education Programs: Tuition and fees from graduate students in mechanical engineering and related programs

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

CEEE conducts HVAC&R and energy systems research through three industry consortia (EEHP, AHXPI, MOC), develops proprietary engineering software tools (CoilDesigner and VapCyc), operates the Daikin Energy Innovation Laboratory for experimental validation, and trains graduate students in mechanical engineering. The center delivers research outcomes, design tools, and trained engineers to industry sponsors and government partners.

Product overview

CEEE operates as a research center within the A. James Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland, offering a portfolio of software tools (CoilDesigner and VapCyc for thermal system simulation), a state-of-the-art research facility (Daikin Energy Innovation Laboratory), and three industrial research consortia (EEHP, AHXPI, and MOC). The center also conducts research projects including the Roving Comforter personal cooling device and participates in the NSF EARTH initiative. Educational offerings include graduate programs in sustainable energy engineering with international collaboration components.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Daikin Energy Innovation Laboratory: A 3,600 square foot state-of-the-art facility featuring flame resistant climate chambers, heat transfer measurement technologies, and facilities for experimental alternative cooling technologies including elastocaloric cooling devices
• Energy Efficiency and Heat Pumps Consortium (EEHP)
• Advanced Heat Exchangers and Process Intensification Consortium (AHXPI)
• Modeling and Optimization Consortium (MOC)
• CoilDesigner
• VapCyc

Products and services

• EEHP Consortium (Energy Efficient HVAC Products) Industry-sponsored research consortium conducting pre-competitive research on energy efficient HVAC products, available to corporate members through annual membership.
• AHXPI Consortium (Advanced Heat Exchanger and Process Intensification) Industry consortium advancing research in advanced heat exchangers and process intensification technologies for HVAC&R and related applications.
• MOC Consortium Industry-sponsored research consortium operated by CEEE addressing additional HVAC&R and energy systems research priorities.
• CoilDesigner Software Proprietary engineering software tool developed by CEEE for the design and analysis of heat exchanger coils used in HVAC&R systems.
• VapCyc Software Proprietary software tool for modeling and analyzing vapor-compression refrigeration cycles, supporting HVAC&R system design and research.
• Graduate Research and Education Programs Graduate-level research and coursework in mechanical engineering with HVAC&R specialization, offered through the University of Maryland's A. James Clark School of Engineering and producing trained engineers for industry.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduces annual peak-hour heating demand by 40-65% and cooling demand by 15-20%
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Maryland Energy Innovation Institute (MEI2)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 June 2026Home to Alchemity startup which licensed technology developed by MEI2 Director Eric Wachsman; Alchemity received $200K Build Our Future Grant.
• DaikincoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDaikin provides naming rights and support for the Daikin Energy Innovation Laboratory, a 3,600 sq ft state-of-the-art facility featuring flame resistant climate chambers and heat transfer measurement technologies for developing next-generation cooling technologies.
• Rheem Manufacturing CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry partner providing equipment and parts for the DOE-funded cold-climate heat pump project using ultra-low GWP refrigerants.
• CopelandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry partner providing equipment and parts for the DOE-funded cold-climate heat pump project using ultra-low GWP refrigerants.
• Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborating with UMD on DOE-funded project addressing performance and safety concerns for Air-to-Water Heat Pumps using eco-friendly, flammable refrigerants.
• National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment research partner collaborating on design, development, and testing of smart rooftop cold-climate heat pump system.
• Heat Transfer Technologies LLC (HTT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry partner collaborating with CEEE to fabricate novel PCM-embedded heat exchanger designs and test at CEEE labs.
• Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrincipal investigator for DOE project on Air-to-Water Heat Pumps, collaborating with UMD and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
• Flexnode, Inc.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupporting CEEE research on reliability and availability analysis of hybrid-cooled modular edge micro data center thermal management systems.
• Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) DepartmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration between CEEE and MSE Department on elastocaloric cooling research, testing materials and components of prototype devices.
• CALCE (Center for Advanced Life Cycle Engineering)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Smart and Small Thermal Systems Laboratory (S2TS) on reliability analysis of thermal management systems for data centers.
• NSF Environmentally Applied Refrigerant Technology Hub (EARTH)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNSF Engineering Research Center bringing together six universities to promote sustainable HVAC&R; CEEE is one of the participating universities.
• Department of Fire Protection EngineeringcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration between CEEE and Fire Protection Engineering at UMD to address safety and performance concerns for heat pumps using flammable refrigerants.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Daikin: Daikin is a global HVAC&R manufacturer and the named sponsor of CEEE's Daikin Energy Innovation Laboratory. As one of the world's largest HVAC OEMs with substantial in-house R&D, Daikin is a broad incumbent that both funds and competes with CEEE's research agenda at the industry-application layer.
• Lennox International: Lennox International is a major North American HVAC manufacturer with significant investment in high-efficiency heat pumps and refrigerant transitions. It operates in the same application space CEEE's research targets and serves as a potential consortium sponsor or competing industry R&D organization.
• Carrier Global: Carrier is a leading global HVAC manufacturer with significant in-house R&D in heat pumps, refrigerants, and energy efficiency — operating in the same end-product space CEEE's research feeds into and serving as a potential industry sponsor or competing research ecosystem.
• Chemours: Chemours is a leading fluorochemical and refrigerant manufacturer (Opteon product family) with significant investment in low-GWP refrigerant chemistry. As a commercial incumbent operating in the same regulatory and sustainability domain CEEE's refrigerant research addresses, Chemours is a directly comparable industry peer in the refrigerant-transition space.
• Trane Technologies: Trane Technologies is a major global HVAC and building solutions provider with extensive R&D investment in heat pumps, low-GWP refrigerants, and electrification — directly overlapping with CEEE's research priorities and representing the commercial endpoint for much of CEEE's industry-relevant work.
• Copeland: Copeland (formerly Emerson Climate Technologies) is a leading HVAC compressor and components manufacturer and a current CEEE industry partner on cold-climate heat-pump research. As an HVAC components incumbent with substantial applied R&D, Copeland is a directly comparable industry counterpart feeding CEEE's research priorities.
• Honeywell: Honeywell is a major producer of low-GWP refrigerants (e.g., Solstice product line) and operates at the intersection of refrigerant chemistry and HVAC systems — directly relevant to CEEE's refrigerant-transition and emissions research agenda as both a potential industry sponsor and an applied-research competitor.

Direct peers

• Purdue University — Herrick Labs: Purdue Herrick Labs is a leading university HVAC&R and thermal systems research center with industry consortium funding, faculty expertise in heat exchangers and refrigerants, and a similar model of graduate-research-driven, sponsor-funded HVAC&R innovation — making it a close academic peer to CEEE.
• National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL): NREL collaborates with CEEE on cold-climate heat-pump design, testing, and development and conducts parallel federal research on building electrification, refrigeration, and low-GWP refrigerants — directly comparable in scope, federal funding model, and industry translation mission.
• Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL): Federally funded research lab with deep expertise in building technologies, heat pumps, and HVAC component innovation. ORNL is a current CEEE collaborator on DOE-funded Air-to-Water Heat Pump research and shares a similar government-funded, industry-engaged research model targeting the same end applications.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CEEEumd
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC-C9c7XB7VN7dXNNZARSfjA
• Facebookfacebook.com/CEEEumd
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ceeeumd
• Instagraminstagram.com/ceeeumd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Center for Environmental Energy Engineering