-- A thermal battery startup backed by Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures has launched its first commercial-scale system, a major step toward its goal of weaning heavy industry off fossil fuels.
Because the Antora system can discharge power both as thermal heat and electricity, “you can achieve the benefits of industrial CHP, combined heat and power, in a zero-carbon way,” said Jon Glass, the acting deputy director for commercialization at the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency — Energy , which awarded Antora more than $7.75 million as part of a program aimed at developing long duration energy storage systems.
She estimated that the market for industrial plants within the US that require process heat and power to be $60 billion, and potential customers include chemical suppliers, the fuels industry, cement, steel, oil and gas refining, as well as food and beverage.