An Oakland-based startup is pioneering a new, potentially carbon-cutting use for renewable energy — heat.
Rondo Energy Inc. is developing a battery that stores wind- and solar-generated electricity as heat. The battery then releases the heat — at temperatures up to 1,200°C — as needed for industrial applications, such as heating boilers and kilns.
The company is hoping to take advantage of the surplus renewable energy that's often generated during daylight hours and help reduce the heavy carbon emissions produced by the industrial sector, which typically relies on fossil fuels to create the heat it needs for its processes.
"Industrial heat produces our commodities and powers our economies. But today’s industrial heat sources generate massive emissions around the world," John O’Donnell, Rondo Energy's CEO, said in a press release. "We've developed a technology to change that."
The company has some new funds to start setting up its system at various sites. It announced this week it's raised $22 million in a Series A round. Rondo expects to start installing its systems later this year.
Here's more on its round and other Series A news from this past week:
Inorganic Intelligence Inc. (dba Celestial AI), Sunnyvale, $56 million: Koch Disruptive Technologies led the round for this developer of photonics-based artificial intelligence chips. Temasek, The Engine, Tyche Partners, M-Ventures, IMEC XPand and Fitz Gate also participated.
Indapta Therapeutics Inc., San Francisco, $50 million: RA Capital Management, Vertex Ventures and Leaps by Bayer co-led the round for this developer of a cellular treatments for blood and solid tumor cancers.
Rondo Energy Inc., Oakland, $22 million: Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Energy Impact Ventures led the round for this developer of batteries that store renewable energy and release it as heat for industrial applications.
SardineAI Corp. (dba Sardine), San Francisco, $19.5 million: Andreessen Horowitz, NYCA Partners and Experian Ventures invested in the round for this developer of online fraud detection software.
Daffy Charitable Fund, Los Altos, $17 million: Ribbit Capital led the round for this non-profit provider of a charitable fund that helps donors reduce their taxes and make philanthropic contributions.
Cerebra Technologies Inc., San Francisco, $15 million: Perception Capital and Notion led the round for this provider of a marketing data analysis service.
PopSQL Inc., San Francisco, $14 million: Tiger Global led the round for this provider of database query editing software. Gradient Ventures, FundersClub and Y Combinator also participated.
Causes Corp. (dba Countable), San Francisco, $13.5 million: Canaan Partners led the round for this developer of a service that helps companies tout their environmental and social initiatives to their customers. Mighty Capital, Global Catalyst Partners and Ulysses Management also invested.
Dray Technologies Inc. (dba Parade), San Francisco, $12.7 million: Menlo Ventures led the round for this provider of software for freight brokerage services. Greenhawk Capital and Jones Capital also invested.
Oloid Inc., Sunnyvale, $12 million: Dell Technologies Capital led the round for this provider of physical access control software. Honeywell Ventures and Okta Ventures also invested.
