Sunnydale, Calif., USA–based Antora Energy has generated more than US$50 million in its latest round of financing from backers such as Breakthrough Energy Ventures, venture capital firm Lowercarbon Capital, Shell Ventures and others, CNBC said.
 
Antora’s thermal battery technology looks to replace natural gas–fueled boilers commonly used in heavy industry. According to CNBC, Antora’s process works similarly to a toaster. Blocks made of solid carbon are heated to extremely high temperatures using electricity derived from renewable sources, such as wind or solar. Carbon is used for the batteries due to its low cost and ability to maintain solid form at ultrahigh temperatures, CNBC said.
 
The heated blocks are then insulated for long-term storage. The massive insulated blocks — roughly the size of a small house or semi-trailer truck — can provide up to 1,500°C of process heat for later use or be turned back into electric power, CNBC said.
 
Antora Energy’s technology is still in the developmental stage but hopes to scale up to commercial production in 2023, providing green energy at lower cost than natural gas.
 
Chris Sacca, the venture capitalist behind Lowercarbon Capital, told CNBC that Antora Energy’s technology “makes heat and electricity from solar at prices cheaper than burning gas. The oil and gas industry can deny climate change all they want, but buyers will always choose the lower price option, and that means lights out for fossil fuels.”
 
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