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

Transaera has developed a dedicated outdoor air system, or DOAS, that the company says removes moisture from air up to twice as efficiently as existing dehumidification methods. The unit uses a desiccant based on Nobel Prize-winning materials from 2025 to coat a six-foot spinning wheel. It can extract 100 pounds of water from the air every hour, reducing the workload on air conditioning systems in commercial buildings. Sorin Grama, co-founder and CEO of Transaera, said the desiccant draws moisture from incoming air, which then passes through a heat exchanger. Stale air exiting the building provides heat to release the moisture from the saturated desiccant for exhaust outside. Grama described the material as like silica gel on steroids. Amazon has tested the unit for several months in Houston and recently signed on as a customer, reserving capacity for the next three years. Grama said Amazon considers the system a design solution to replicate across its building stock. The company has purchasing targets worth nine figures from customers including Amazon and others. Transaera is working with manufacturers, including those in the U.S., to build the devices as like-for-like replacements for legacy units in standard commercial HVAC systems. Amazon said the units will help reduce its energy use and advance its path toward net-zero carbon emissions by 2040.