A U.S. company says its ozone-based laundry disinfectant system can cut the cost of doing commercial laundry in half.

Ecowash, a company launched in Wisconsin last year, makes commercial laundry systems that use ozone to disinfect and remove stains, and says since the technology doesn't require hot water it offers a significant energy saving, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Sunday.

Ozone as a disinfectant has been used in Europe since the 1800s but has only recently been utilized in the United States.

Wisconsin's Focus on Energy program has begun offering incentives for customers to deploy the technology, saying it cuts energy use by 45 percent, as well as cutting detergent, chemical and hot water use.

Though not suitable for light washing loads or home use, Focus on Energy recommends it for places that go through a lot of laundry, such as hotels, nursing homes or buildings that have at least 1,000 pounds of laundry to wash every day.