Latest News

BlackRock, Temasek-led group invest $150 mln in thermal battery maker Antora

Thermal battery maker Antora Energy on Thursday said it has raised $150 million in a funding round led by a tieup in between the world's most significant property supervisor BlackRock and Singapore state investment firm Temasek.

The BlackRock-Temasek partnership, called, Decarbonization Partners, led an investor group consisting of Emerson Collective, GS Futures, The Nature Conservancy, Lowercarbon Capital, Breakthrough Energy Ventures and leading global miner BHP's. equity capital unit.

The fresh funding for the start-up will underpin an. increase in production of its batteries, blocks of strong carbon. heated up with renewable resource.

Energy from those batteries could be used in commercial. procedures that utilize heat to melt and change raw active ingredients, in. sectors from chemicals to concrete.

Antora or its consumer would buy renewable energy sometimes. When prices are least expensive to heat up the batteries to as, of the day. much as 2,400 degrees Celsius (4,352 degrees Fahrenheit). Consumers might draw on that heat throughout the day,. possibly decarbonizing areas of the economy viewed as. particularly wedded to fossil fuel usage.

The thermal battery combined with cheap renewable resource. marks the very first opportunity for decarbonizing commercial. emissions in a way that's expense competitive with fossil fuels,. Antora co-founder and CEO Andrew Ponec stated in an interview.

The heat can also be turned into electrical energy through. California-based Antora's thermophotovoltaic technology.

Another California startup, Rondo Energy, similarly uses. bricks to store heat for later usage and has actually raised $85 million so. far, according to PitchBook.

Antora's raise would put it as the sixth-biggest Series B. environment technology financing round of 2023, data from PitchBook. revealed, and takes the company's overall financing considering that its Series A. in 2022 to $230 million. Series A and B are the 2nd and first. major personal fundraisings by a start-up.

The average raise of a climate tech Series B in 2023 fell. somewhat to $28 million, versus a background of a fall in the. variety of venture capital environment tech offers of any size, and. their cumulative offer worth, by around a quarter.

(source: Reuters)