Antora Closes $550 Million in a Series C Funding Round

US startup company Antora Energy raised $550 million in a Series C funding round to support its ‘hot blocks’ thermal battery system. The funding round was oversubscribed, with more investors wanting to invest than the company wanted to accept. This reflects the investors' strong confidence in the company. Long-duration energy storage startupAntora has manufactured a thermal energy storage system, which is also called a thermal battery. Instead of storing electricity in chemical batteries like lithium-ion batteries, Antora stores energy as heat. They use electricity from solar and wind power when there is a surplus, and that electricity heats solid carbon blocks until they become extremely hot (almost white hot). The hot blocks keep the heat for a long time, so that when energy is later required, the stored heat can provide heat for factories and be converted back into electricity. This is important because lithium-ion batteries used in grid operations typically range from only 2 to 4 hours, though longer hours are beginning to emerge. On the other hand, Antora’s technology can store energy for 10 hours or more, making it a long-duration energy storage solution. These remarkable steps help them use more renewable energy and reduce wasted solar and wind power.  It also provides backup power for longer periods and supplies energy to industries that need heat all day long. The main reason why factories are showing interest is that many industries need very high temperatures for various things, including steel manufacturing, chemical plants, food processing, and data centers. Today, these industries often burn coal or natural gas to create heat. Antora’s hot carbon blocks can provide that heat using renewable electricity instead, helping reduce carbon emissions and fossil fuel use. The US Department of Energy (DOE) supported Antora early in its development. In 2019, the US DOE gave $7.9 million for technology development. In 2024, the US DOE gave $14.5 million to help commercialize the technology. Earlier, the US DOE also announced a newfunding opportunity for small businesses through its SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research)  and STTR (Small Business Technology Transfer) programs. Share this article Latest News Categories More News