Cambridge-based Fourth Power is developing new ways to store renewable energy, a longstanding challenge for the clean energy industry.
Fourth Power is dedicated to creating an electricity grid that works on renewable and clean energy. Solar and wind energy are now the cheapest kind of energy, but with no way to store them, they can’t be relied upon as a grid-size energy source.
“Until you can find a way to store it, you can't build a reliable grid,” said Fourth Power CEO Arvin Ganesan.
Fourth Power’s model uses thermal batteries, which convert energy to heat and can store electricity for hundreds of hours at about a tenth of the cost of lithium ion batteries, according to Ganesan.
The Fourth Power says its technology allows renewable energy to be accessible in seconds.
The price piece is important, Ganesan said: If there’s hope of building a clean energy grid, the transition from one form to another also needs to be done affordably.
The need for a better way to store clean energy is also increasing, Ganesan said. Electricity demand has largely been flat over the past several decades, but for the first time in a generation, we are at an inflection point for increased demand, he said.
Fourth Power was founded by MIT professor Asegun Henry, who serves at the company’s CTO. Ganesan, who formerly was head of global energy and environmental policy at Apple, joined the company as CEO in 2023.
In December, Fourth Power brought in a $19 million in Series A round. That figure brought the total venture capital funding to black founded startups in Massachusetts to $33 million in 2023, up from the previously reported figure of $14 million. Put differently, Fourth Power’s Series A reflected 58% of the total venture capital dollars invested in a Black founded business in the state.
It was a large investment, Ganesan said, but one that came after years of research. Henry got his first thermal battery-related grant in 2012, and has been working on this topic for over a decade.
“The world is at an inflection point when it comes to energy technology,” Ganesan said.
Fourth Power is currently in the process of developing a demo plant for the technology in Middleton, which will be funded by the Series A round.
