Cleantech Startup Energy Dome Raises $44 Million to Scale “CO2 Battery” Energy Storage Solution
Energy storage startup Energy Dome announced that it has raised €40 million (US$44 million), with proceeds aimed at scaling the global commercialization of its utility-scale storage solution, the CO2 Battery, and its expansion in new markets, with a particular focus on the U.S.
Founded in 2019, Milan, Italy-based Energy Dome enables expanded use of renewable energy by making solar and wind power dispatchable using its CO2 Battery, utilizing thermodynamic processes to use CO2 as an energy storage fluid at ambient temperature, and providing energy when the CO2 warms up, expands and turns a turbine to generate electricity, for dispatch into the grid as needed.
The company is already working with several utilities, independent power producers and corporate customers in markets including the U.S., Europe, South America, India and Australia, with a qualified pipeline greater than 9GWh.
Claudio Spadacini, Founder and CEO of Energy Dome, said:
“Imagine a system that can store renewable energy with 75% RTE (AC-AC, MV-MV) and a cost which is half the cost of lithium. A system that has no degradation over 30 years and that is made of just steel, water and CO2. Now imagine that that system is made of existing and well-known components that any power plant operator is capable of maintaining and operating, and those components are deployable at GWh scale globally with no bottlenecks on the supply chain or specific site constraints. If you like this idea, stop imagining. Because this is reality, the technology is sorted.”
According to Energy Dome, the new financing round will enable further commercialization of its technology, and support the expansion of its team in key markets, particularly as it looks to grow in the U.S. to address opportunities arising from the Inflation Reduction Act’s investment tax credits for utility-scale energy storage.
The Series B financing round was co-led by energy company Eni’s venture capital arm Eni Next and Neva SGR, the venture capital company of banking group Intesa Sanpaolo, and follows an $11 million convertible funding round completed in June 2022.
Spadacini said:
“Our CO2 Battery is ready for the market and, after closing the Series B round, we are ready to guarantee its performance to any customer that is real about getting rid of fossil fuels and substituting with dispatchable renewable energies.”