Participated · Series A · Feb 2025

ACT-ion Battery Technologies develops coated single-crystal cathode active materials (CAMs) for lithium batteries using a rapid continuous, clean, and chemistry-agnostic manufacturing process that aims to lower energy use and cost. The company is led by CEO Jin Lim and is based in Dallas, Texas. It is building and commissioning a pilot production facility in Carrollton, Texas, to scale its CAM production. ACT-ion intends to use recent funds to complete the pilot build-out and to secure commercial validation and offtake agreements with partners in the electric vehicle and energy storage sectors. Financially, the company recently closed a $4M Pre‑Series A extension led by Kyobo Life Insurance Group and KB Investment. That $4M followed an initial $7.5M close with participation from BASF Venture Capital, Hunt Energy Enterprises, Arosa Capital, Mirae Asset Capital, and LG Technology Ventures, bringing total disclosed funding to $11.5M. ACT-ion develops lithium battery cathode active material (CAM) production technology using a rapid continuous process that yields coated single crystal CAMs through a clean, chemistry-agnostic method requiring lower energy and cost. The company was incubated within and spun out of Hunt Energy Enterprises LLC. Led by Jin Lim, CTO and Interim CEO, ACT-ion has successfully demonstrated its manufacturing platform for a variety of chemistries. The company is based in Dallas, Texas. ACT-ion intends to use new funding to accelerate its CAM production technology and to establish an operational pilot facility by 2025, with validations from industry partners. The article reports a $7.5M fundraising, indicating early-stage capital to commercialize the platform.

Participated · Series A · Sep 2024

Mantel Capture is developing the first molten-salt-based carbon capture technology designed to operate at the high temperatures inside boilers, kilns, and furnaces. Its system uses molten borates and has demonstrated carbon capture at lab scale of about 0.5 tonnes per day. The company plans a demonstration project at an industrial site that is roughly 10 times larger than the lab tests and is rated to capture about 1,800 tonnes of CO2 per year. Funding from the recent round will be used to implement that demonstration and to pave the way for full-scale commercial deployment of its high-temperature capture systems. Mantel positions its approach as enabling higher efficiency and substantial cost reductions, which it says can unlock broader deployment of carbon capture and help reach net-zero emissions by 2050. The company is based in Boston, MA.

Participated · Series A · Sep 2024

Mantel Capture is developing molten-borate (molten-salt) high-temperature carbon capture systems designed for boilers, kilns and furnaces in heavy industry. Its technology captures CO2 at the emission source using molten borates, recovering high-grade heat during capture to offset regeneration energy. Mantel says this enables capture costs more than half lower than conventional amine-based carbon capture technologies. The company demonstrated lab-scale capture of about 0.5 tonnes per day and plans a demonstration project rated to capture roughly 1,800 tonnes of CO2 per year. The $30 million Series A will fund the industrial demonstration and support design and preparation for full-scale commercial deployment. Mantel targets hard-to-abate sectors such as cement, steel, chemicals and natural gas power plants. Mantel develops a high-temperature, liquid-phase carbon-capture system designed to operate inside boilers, kilns, and furnaces. The technology targets hard-to-abate industries such as industrial heat, cement, steel, and hydrogen, and can pair with biogenic sources for carbon dioxide removal. Mantel was spun out of MIT after research with Professors T. Alan Hatton and Takuya Harada. The company says the new funding will accelerate technology development, prototype testing, and initial deployment. After achieving a lab-scale flow loop demonstration, Mantel plans to use fresh capital to build a commercial-scale demonstration plant. Mantel was founded in 2022 by Cameron Halliday (CEO), Danielle Colson (COO), and Sean Robertson (CTO).

Led · Equity · Dec 2018

Solease is a Utrecht-based startup that leases solar panels to homeowners and businesses for a fixed monthly fee covering purchase, installation, insurance, and repair. The model allows customers to install solar immediately without upfront investment and often at a lower cost than current electricity. The company says its customers save on average two tons of CO2 per year. Solease aims to install an additional 150,000 solar panels over the next five years and estimates this will involve roughly €1 billion of investment in the Dutch energy transition. It is also exploring expanding its offering with heat pumps, home batteries, and expansion abroad. Founded in 2011, Solease has raised €3 million from New York-based Arosa Capital Management and €2 million via crowdfunding, bringing total funding to €17 million. With the new capital the company plans to expand its team and operational capacity to meet growing domestic demand. Solease offers a lease model that lets homeowners get rooftop solar panels without a large upfront investment, handling installation, maintenance and warranty. Users pay a monthly fee (circa €50) that the company says can immediately be offset by savings (around €60 monthly). The €4 million investment will fund installations for 840 homes (500 in Overijssel, 180 in Limburg and 160 in the municipality of Utrecht). Solease was founded in 2011 and has partnerships including a prior collaboration with Nuon; it is connected to UtrechtInc and participated in ClimateKIC. CEO Pierre Vermeulen projects that, with accompanying bank financing, the program could expand to about 5,000 homes and save roughly 10,000 tons of CO2 annually. Homeowners can end their lease at any time or transfer the panels to new occupants when moving.