SUNNYVALE — Antora Energy has raised $50 million for its thermal energy storage system led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures — founded by Bill Gates — and Lowercarbon Capital.
Antora Energy has unlocked a solution to deliver zero-emissions heat and electricity to heavy industry that is more reliable than fossil fuels, and just as cheap, according to Antora Energy CEO Andrew Ponec. “The manufacturing sector—including notoriously hard-to-decarbonize industries like cement, steel, and petrochemicals—accounts for a staggering 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Today, there aren’t scalable solutions to clean up the major drivers of these emissions—heat and power from combusting coal and gas,” Ponec says. “Partnering with Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, and our strong syndicate of other investors brings the resources and know-how to scale up our business and wipe out billions of tons of CO2 emissions per year.”
Additional investors include Shell Ventures, BHP Ventures, Grok Ventures, Trust Ventures, Overture VC, Impact Science Ventures, and existing investor Fifty Years VC.
Antora’s thermal energy storage system soaks up inexpensive renewable electricity and stores it as high-temperature heat. This stored thermal energy can then be used directly to provide process heat up to 1500°C or converted back to electricity. In other words, Antora turns wind and solar into 24/7 power and heat and sets industry on a course to cheap, clean, around-the-clock energy.
Antora Energy has been developing their technology since being founded in 2018 with support from the Department of Energy, the California Energy Commission, the National Science Foundation, the Activate Fellowship, and private investors. With a recent Series A and previous funding under their belts, Antora will build out their first customer-sited projects and speed up hiring. “We are building a diverse team of compassionate people who find joy in their work and are driven to stop climate change,” says Ponec.
“Clean energy storage for industrial heat and power will be a key enabler of tomorrow’s zero carbon world. Antora Energy will have a major impact on lowering carbon emissions stemming from the manufacturing industry. We look forward to our partnership with Antora to help bring their critical new product to market,” said Carmichael Roberts, Breakthrough Energy Ventures.
Chris Sacca, Chairman at Lowercarbon Capital, said, “Antora makes heat and electricity from solar panels cheaper than burning gas. That’s lights out for fossil fuels.”
