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    1. Energy Storage

    RedoxBlox Awarded $25M for Thermochemical Energy Storage to Decarbonize Industrial Heat

    Jan. 17, 2024
    The thermochemical battery features energy densities comparable to lithium-ion batteries at a fraction of the cost, enabling the electrification of industrial heat for difficult-to-decarbonize sectors
    Department of Energy
    65a7ddb2232432001e906956 Doe Redoxblox

    RedoxBlox, an energy storage solutions provider, has been awarded a total of $25 million in funding to support demonstrations of the company’s thermochemical energy storage (TCES) technology to deliver zero-carbon electricity and heat.

    The total funding includes $8.9 million from the California Energy Commission (CEC), $6.7 million from the US Department of Energy (DOE), and $9.4 million in Series A funding led by Khosla Ventures.

    San Diego-based RedoxBlox’s technology will help decarbonize two key areas of the economy – industrial heat and renewable energy storage for the grid.

    The company’s high-temperature thermochemical battery features energy densities comparable to lithium-ion batteries at a fraction of the cost, enabling the electrification of industrial heat for difficult-to-decarbonize sectors, including cement, steel, food and beverage, refining, and chemicals manufacturing.

    The technology will also enable more renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, to come onto the electrical grid through ultra-low-cost energy storage.

    “Our goal is simple: use electrification and thermochemical energy storage to compete as a zero-carbon replacement for natural gas,” said Dr. Joerg Petrasch, RedoxBlox Co-Founder and CTO. “We have proven the science. Our focus now is to scale up to commercially relevant sizes.”

    The company’s storage module features a vessel filled with an abundantly available, low-cost metal oxide material. To charge, renewable electricity heats the metal oxide pellets up to 1,500°C to trigger a chemical reaction that releases oxygen and stores heat as chemical energy.

    When this stored energy is needed, air is directed through the module, and the metal oxide consumes oxygen to reverse the reaction and release heat. Hot air from the module can then deliver heat to an array of industrial processes or to gas turbines to generate electricity – thus serving as a drop-in replacement for natural gas.

    In partnership with the University of California, San Diego, and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), the CEC selected RedoxBlox to pioneer long-duration energy storage solutions. Hosted by the University of California, the project will utilize the company’s technology to power a turbogenerator and provide up to 24 hours of energy storage capacity.

    In addition, the DOE’s Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office selected RedoxBlox for an industrial-scale TCES, conducted in partnership with Dow and EPRI. This will showcase the decarbonization of industrial steam at the Dow West Virginia plant through electrification using long-duration TCES.

    About the Author

    EnergyTech Staff

    Rod Walton is senior editor for EnergyTech.com. He has spent 14 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist.

    Walton formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.

    He can be reached at [email protected]. 

    EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids.

    Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.