ImpactAlpha, February 22 — Nearly 30% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions come from industry. Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Antora Energy launched in 2018 to decarbonize heavy industry with renewable energy storage for renewable energy.
The company says its thermal battery is more affordable, safe, efficient and durable than other approaches. How it works: Antora’s battery soaks up clean energy and stores it heat; the process can be reversed to provide electricity.
“Antora makes heat and electricity from solar panels cheaper than burning gas,” says Chris Sacca of Lowercarbon Capital, which led the Series A round with Breakthrough Energy Ventures. Other investors in the round included Shell Ventures, BHP Ventures, Trust Ventures, Fifty Years VC and Impact Science Ventures.
Low-carbon transition
The funding will help Antora scale up to small commercial installations,” the company’s Andrew Ponec told Climate Tech VC. “Those prototypes are a stepping stone towards building real, larger ethanol or chemical plants.”
Ponec says the company is structuring energy purchase agreements, like “heat-as-a-service” or “hot-thermal-oil-as-a-service,” with chemical, biodiesel and ethanol producers, and food and beverage companies.
Initial funding came from the Department of Energy, the California Energy Commission and the National Science Foundation.
Heat pumps
Norway-based Heaten, last month raised €6 million from investors including Azolla Ventures, the successor fund to the Prime Impact Fund, and Shell Ventures to to commercialize its high-temperature industrial heat pumps.
