Meet the Company Making Ice the Future of Energy Storage: Ice Energy
The company’s flagship product is the Ice Bear.
Published Sept. 9 2025, 5:49 p.m. ET
Based in Southern California, Ice Energy is a leading innovator in thermal energy storage technology. The company’s flagship product, the Ice Bear, transforms traditional air conditioning systems by freezing water during off-peak electricity hours and using that stored ice to cool buildings during peak demand. This process dramatically reduces strain on the electrical grid, lowers customer utility costs, and makes it easier for utilities to integrate more renewable energy.
With over two decades of development and a growing portfolio of utility-scale deployments, Ice Energy is pioneering a cost-effective complement to lithium-ion battery storage—positioning thermal energy storage as a critical solution in the fight against climate change.
Interview with Joe Raasch, COO of Ice Energy
Green Matters sat down with Joe Raasch, Chief Operating Officer at Ice Energy, to talk about the company’s mission, technology, and future of clean energy storage.
Q: What is Ice Energy’s mission?
A: “Our mission is simple: lower power bills, strengthen grid reliability, and help utilities add renewables without raising rates. Thermal energy storage does that with proven, American-made equipment—no rare-earth supply chains. I joined to scale operations from pilots to utility programs in Southern California, where keeping the AC on during heat waves is a must and taxpayers expect results, not red tape.”
Q: How does the Ice Bear system work?
A: “Ice Bear freezes water at night when electricity is cheapest, then uses that stored ice to cool buildings during the day. That lets facilities shut off energy-hungry compressors for up to eight hours, cutting peak cooling demand by up to 95%. It eases strain on the electric grid so utilities don’t have to fire up expensive peaker plants—and it saves Main Street businesses real money.”
Q: What impact has Ice Energy achieved so far?
A: “Our 25.6 MWh virtual power plant with Southern California Edison spans 100+ customer sites and has delivered over 45 GWh of capacity since inception. Customers have cut utility bills by up to 20% through smart load shifting. That’s pocketbook relief and grid support—delivered with existing infrastructure that didn’t have to wait for grid interconnection.”
Q: Why does thermal storage make sense to complement lithium-ion batteries?
A: “Cooling is often the #1 electricity use in buildings, ice storage acts as a thermal battery, using water to store energy and target the biggest load, which is air conditioning. We use water and copper, not cobalt, lithium, or nickel. The systems have a 20+ year useful life with no degradation and come in at a lower cost per kW-year for cooling than alternatives. It’s a commonsense, U.S.-friendly solution that avoids foreign mineral dependency We believe that every home and commercial site should have both thermal and lithium-ion batteries that are right-sized for their respective loads as a hybrid energy storage system providing both cost-effective peak load shifting and resiliency.”
Q: How scalable and adaptable is your technology grid‑wide?
A: “Our Ice Bear units are behind-the-meter assets that connect to HVAC equipment. When deployed on the grid, it skips the interconnection queue and requires no new transmission. That means thermal storage can be deployed in weeks, not years. Aggregated as a dispatchable Virtual Power Plant, they help utilities meet resource-adequacy needs and integrate renewables while keeping rates in check.”
Q: What are the future growth plans for Ice Energy?
A: “We’re moving into homes and small businesses with our Ice Cub product and expanding beyond California to markets that prize reliability and affordability—think Texas, the Southeast, and fast-growing Sun Belt regions. Along the way, we’re building American manufacturing and installer networks—skilled jobs, stronger local economies, and a more resilient grid without mandates.”
As the global energy sector races toward decarbonization, Ice Energy is proving that clean, scalable, and affordable solutions don't always come in the form of rare earth metals. With leaders like Joe Raasch at the helm, the company is transforming how we think about cooling, storage, and grid resilience—one block of ice at a time.
As Ice Energy expands into the mainstream, its vision for a smarter, more sustainable power infrastructure is not only innovative—it's essential.