SUNNYVALE — Antora Energy, a leader in zero-emissions industrial heat and power, raised a $150 million Series B funding round led by Decarbonization Partners, a partnership between BlackRock and Temasek. This financing round will enable Antora to ramp production of its factory-made thermal batteries to deliver billions of dollars of zero-emissions energy to industrial customers. Emerson Collective, GS Futures, The Nature Conservancy, and a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources, LLC also participated in this round, alongside existing investors Trust Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, BHP Ventures, Overture VC, and Grok Ventures.
Temasek is an investment fund owned by the government of Singapore.
Antora is unlocking zero-emissions industrial energy, cheaper than fossil fuels. Antora leverages renewable electricity to heat blocks of solid carbon—a low-cost, earth-abundant, and safe storage medium that’s used extensively across industries—to glowing hot temperatures in an insulated module. The stored heat is then reliably delivered at the scale and temperatures that large industrial operations demand. Additionally, Antora’s thermal battery can output electricity at breakthrough efficiencies using Antora’s thermophotovoltaic (TPV) technology, which converts the stored heat directly into electricity without the drawbacks of a conventional heat engine.
Industry is the single biggest driver of climate change, accounting for 30% of global emissions.1 As wind and solar have become the cheapest sources of new electricity on the planet, industry has been largely unable to tap into this clean energy potential for a simple reason: there hasn’t been a cost-effective way to store intermittent renewable energy at industrial scale.
Antora bridges the gap between renewable energy and industrial manufacturing, supplying zero-emissions heat and power to factories with batteries made in America. Manufactured at the company’s factory in San Jose, CA, Antora’s modular thermal batteries roll off the production line ready to be road-shipped for simple installation at industrial sites. Antora’s thermal batteries will have a significant impact on decarbonizing industrial energy while creating U.S. jobs, spurring America’s manufacturing sector, and strengthening domestic supply chains.
“When it comes to decarbonizing industry, we have no time to waste,” said Andrew Ponec, co-founder and CEO of Antora Energy. “We are thrilled to partner with Decarbonization Partners and all of our exceptional investors to supercharge Antora’s growth. This financing enables us to build and deploy our thermal batteries even faster, moving full speed ahead to decarbonize industry in the United States and around the world. Because our thermal batteries are factory-manufactured in the United States, this is not only an investment in Antora, it’s an investment in U.S. jobs, manufacturing, and leadership in the clean energy transition.”
“Innovative technology is needed to help decarbonize the industrial energy sector as part of the transition to a low-carbon economy,” said Dr. Meghan Sharp, Global Head and Chief Investment Officer of Decarbonization Partners. “Antora is the clear leader in decarbonizing industrial heat, which constitutes 15% of global emissions.2 This capital enables Antora to scale up its manufacturing and commercial deployments, meeting the significant customer demand for its zero-emissions heat and power products in the United States and around the world. We are thrilled to partner with the Antora team.”
This funding comes on the heels of significant milestones the company has achieved since announcing its Series A in 2022, bringing total funding to over $230 million. In addition to support from private investors, Antora has received critical early and ongoing support from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) and Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office (IEDO); the National Science Foundation; and the California Energy Commission (CEC).
