HOUSTON, Nov. 15, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Kraton Corporation (NYSE: KRA), a leading global producer of styrenic block copolymers, specialty polymers and high-value performance products derived from pine wood pulping co-products, announces that it was selected as a Finalist for the Global Cooling Prize that was presented at the Finalist Award Ceremony on Friday, November 15 in New Delhi, India.

Kraton’s entry is the NexarCoo’ technology, a unique and innovative air conditioning redesign of the century-old evaporative cooling technology. By leveraging its Nexa’ copolymer with exceptional moisture transport properties, the newly-designed air conditioner (A/C) is expected to achieve high-energy efficiency without the use of a refrigerant. Kraton’s collaborators for the Global Cooling Prize project include India Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB), Porus Lab and Infosys — all of which are located in India — with the assistance of Texas A&M University in the USA. Infosys is engaged for the computer modeling of the A/C’s engineering and design.

“Kraton is proud to be part of a collective effort to solve the global cooling challenge,” said Dr. Vijay Mhetar, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at Kraton. “We are honored to be selected as a Finalist with our design, an innovative water-based, energy-efficient and affordable cooling technology that can make a positive difference for people around the globe.”

The Global Cooling Prize is an innovation competition to identify a breakthrough residential cooling technology with five times less climate impact. the international competition is backed by Sir Richard Branson and the Indian government with a $3 million prize awarded over two years for a better A/C. the winning technology will receive at least $1 million. the prize is administered by Rocky Mountain Institute, Conservation X Labs, Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy and CEPT University.

Out of 2,100 participant registrations — from innovators, start-ups, research institutes, universities and key A/C industry manufacturers — 445 teams submitted their preliminary ideas through the intent-to-apply form. About 139 teams from 31 countries followed through with their submission of the full detailed technical application. Finalists — including Kraton — received $200,000 to build prototypes, which will be tested in a lab that simulates the climate in different Indian cities.