Thermochemical Energy Storage Startup Redoxblox Gains $30M Boost in New Series A Funding
Investors led by Prelude Ventures and Breakthrough Energy Ventures have helped San Diego-based Redoxblox top nearly $41 million to scale its thermochemical energy storage systems (TCES).
Prelude and Imperative Ventures joined early investors Breakthrough and Khosla Ventures in the Series A round. The new funding added $30 million to the Series A round total.
The idea and technology behind the company’s TCES units is that they store energy both chemically and as heat at high temperatures, allowing for continuous or on-demand discharge for industrial processes or electricity generation. The thermochemical energy storage system reportedly can fast charge when electricity prices are low or during periods of surplus renewables generation.
“Redoxblox is tackling one of the toughest sectors to decarbonize, industrial heat," said Gabriel Kra, Managing Partner at Prelude Ventures. “They've accomplished what once seemed impossible: creating an electrical alternative to natural gas that is affordable, easy to adopt, and charges more quickly than other solutions. We're excited to support them as they continue to scale and bring this solution to market."
Alternatives in Long Duration Energy Storage
The company also announces the appointment of a new CEO, Pasquale Romano, formerly President and CEO of ChargePoint and currently Member of The President of the United States’ National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC). Romano will lead the company through its next phase of growth, expanding into key industrial heat and long duration grid scale storage markets.
"Decarbonization depends on widespread adoption of cost-competitive alternatives to fossil fuels for industrial heat applications that address the time-varying nature of electricity demand and fluctuating renewable generation. Our goal is to address the density, cycle life, reliability, efficiency, and cost requirements to enable the world to decarbonize without economic compromise,” said Romano. “Decarbonization has to be a natural side effect of utilizing cost-competitive technologies to meet the world's energy needs.”
The company’s Series A funding follows $26.7 million in grants from the California Energy Commission (CEC) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Redoxblox was selected by the CEC to demonstrate the ability to provide 24 hours of electricity storage capacity in collaboration with UC San Diego and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI).
Similarly, the DOE’s Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office chose Redoxblox for an industrial-scale thermochemical energy storage project, partnering with Dow Chemical and EPRI to decarbonize steam production at Dow’s West Virginia plant.
