Calectra, a thermal energy-based energy storage system provider, raised $1.6 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Lifeline Ventures with participation from Aera VC, Security Trading (an investment company of Antti Herlin’s family), Orca Climate Fund, Wave Ventures, Prodeko Ventures, and Justin Brodie-Kommit.
The company has also been awarded over $400,000 in grant funding from the U.S. government and New York State, selected for the Activate, Cyclotron Road, and Venture for Climate Tech programs.
Calectra is developing a power-to-heat thermal storage technology to provide manufacturing industries with low-cost, high-temperature (up to 1600°C), emission-free process heat. High-temperature heat is required to manufacture essential materials like cement, steel, and glass.
“Industrial heat accounts for one-quarter of the global energy consumption and is a massive $450 billion market. Decarbonizing industrial heat presents a huge opportunity,” said Juha Lindfors, Partner at Lifeline Ventures.
The company’s thermal energy storage system converts electricity from the grid or on-site renewables into high-temperature heat within its patent-pending bricks. This heat is then stored in the bricks and delivered to industrial manufacturers on demand.
“Heavy industry is one of the hardest to decarbonize sectors, accounting for a quarter of global carbon dioxide emissions. Manufacturing companies usually produce low-margin commodities and compete in international markets. Most companies cannot afford to pay a green premium for their heat decarbonization solution. At the same time, the heat source must be reliable and safe, as most industrial processes operate continuously, and any downtime is hugely expensive. Calectra’s vision is to help the heavy industry to decarbonize their high-temperature process heat while reducing their costs,” says Pauliina Meskanen, Co-Founder & CEO of Calectra.
According to Mercom’s recently released 1H and Q2 2024 Funding and M&A report for Energy Storage and Smart Grid, VC funding for Energy Storage companies in 1H 2024 came to $2.4 billion in 48 deals, a 37% decrease year-over-year compared to $3.8 billion in 43 deals in 1H 2023.
Early this year, MGA Thermal, a thermal energy-based long-duration energy storage system provider, secured $5.7 million in Additional funding. The round included existing investors Main Sequence and Melt Ventures and new investor JEKARA.
