ImpactAlpha, February 21 — Coal- and gas-fired boilers have generated steam power and heat for buildings and industrial processes since the Industrial Revolution.
AtmosZero, based in Fort Collins, Colo., has built an electric boiler that uses heat pump technology to turn heat from the air into high-temperature steam. AtmosZero touts maintenance savings, since electric boilers don’t require combustion inspections.
The modular design of the company’s “Boiler 2.0” makes it “a scalable, drop-in replacement product rather than complex and expensive customized projects,” said AtmosZero’s Addison Stark.
Electrify everything
The Series A funding will support AtmosZero’s first commercial pilot, a 650-kilowatt electric boiler at New Belgium Brewing’s headquarters in Fort Collins, Colo. AtmosZero will work with Fort Collins Utilities to deliver 100% renewable electricity at the brewing facility by 2030. The company plans to expand in Europe through its Amsterdam-based subsidiary AtmosZero Europe.
Industrial decarbonization
MIT-spinout venture fund Engine Ventures (formerly The Engine) and 2150 co-led AtmostZero’s financing, joined by Energy Impact Partners, Constellation Technology Ventures and other backers. AtmosZero recently secured a $3.2 million grant from the US Department of Energy to develop an electric boiler that simultaneously produces both steam and refrigeration.
“Reducing reliance on fossil fuels isn’t just an environmental imperative — it’s a geopolitical one, too,” said Engine’s Michael Kearney.
Early-stage catalyst
Engine Ventures has built a reputation for betting on very early-stage ventures with “tough tech.” The venture fund was an early investor in Commonwealth Fusion Systems, which raked in close to $2 billion of the more than $5 billion that has been invested by the private sector in fusion energy startups (see, “Fusion is heating up”).
Other startups in its portfolio include carbon capture tech venture Mantel and zero-carbon cement producer Sublime Systems.
