• Rondo Energy

  Participated · Equity · Aug 2023

  Rondo Energy manufactures Rondo Heat Batteries (RHBs) that store intermittent wind and solar electricity as continuous, high-temperature heat and power for industrial processes. Its systems are designed for seamless integration with existing equipment to deliver high-pressure steam and power as a service, enabling “drop-in decarbonization” for industries that currently rely on fossil fuels. Rondo operates the world’s highest-temperature, highest-efficiency commercial energy storage system at Calgren Renewable Fuels in Pixley, California, and is expanding production capacity of its storage media with partner Siam Cement Group from 2 GWh/yr to 90 GWh/yr. The company is pursuing storage-as-a-service contracts and a large pipeline of global projects to replace industrial gas use with renewables. Recent project funding will support European deployments to deliver long-term low-cost clean energy under contracts with manufacturers and industrial parks. Rondo is headquartered in Alameda, California. Rondo Energy develops a heat battery that captures low‑cost renewable electricity and delivers high‑temperature, high‑efficiency energy storage to enable customers to power industrial operations with zero‑carbon energy. The company is led by CEO John O’Donnell and is headquartered in Alameda, California. In 2023 Rondo began operations of its first commercial unit, which lowered the carbon intensity of biofuel produced by Calgren Renewable Fuels. In partnership with Siam Cement Group (SCG) the company reported current Heat Battery production capacity of 2.4 GWh/year and plans to scale to 90 GWh/year. Financially, Rondo recently raised $60M and intends to use the funds to grow international operations and to develop and build storage projects around the world. Rondo Energy’s core product is the Rondo Heat Battery (RHB), which stores low-cost renewable electricity as high-temperature heat in brick and delivers dispatchable heat on demand at temperatures up to 1500°C. The technology is designed to decarbonize energy-intensive industrial processes and to eliminate Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions while reducing operating costs for large energy users. Rondo says its approach leverages proven steel-industry experience with large-scale brick heat storage and the falling costs of wind and solar to offer low-cost zero-carbon heat. The company plans to scale manufacturing capacity, originate customer projects, and develop services for heavy industry and energy producers, including Heat as a Service offerings. Rondo and its investors intend to deploy the technology at scale across sectors such as cement, chemicals, paper, and packaging. Recent funding—from Siam Cement Group alongside existing backers—will support earlier deployments and enable rapid production and wider commercial rollouts across Southeast Asia and worldwide. Rondo Energy develops a high-temperature thermal storage system—the Rondo Heat Battery—that stores renewable electricity as heat in engineered solid materials. Its system uses resistive heating to heat engineered "brick" materials and AI-powered controls to supervise charging and discharge, delivering superheated air that can be converted to steam or supplied directly to high-temperature industrial processes. Rondo says its storage operates at up to 1,200°C and claims roughly 98% round-trip efficiency, positioning the technology as cheaper and simpler than electrochemical batteries or hydrogen systems. Target customers include food processing, oil production, cement manufacturing, hydrogen generation and raw-material refining—sectors that consume large amounts of industrial heat. The company raised $22 million in a Series A to begin manufacturing and delivering customer systems later this year. Rondo frames its technology as a way to use excess midday renewable power to decarbonize industrial heat and highlights California as its home state and an important market for industrial gas consumption.

• Iceotope

  Participated · Series B · Jul 2022

  Founded in 2005, Iceotope develops chassis-based precision liquid cooling systems that replace traditional air cooling to improve efficiency and reduce energy and water usage in data centres, AI infrastructure, HPC, and edge environments. Its technology is purpose-built for demanding cooling constraints across core data centers and distributed edge deployments. The company holds more than 200 granted and pending patents covering its liquid cooling approach. Iceotope plans to scale product and engineering efforts, expand its patent portfolio, and grow ecosystem partnerships following its recent fundraise. Financially, the company secured a $26 million Series B to support these initiatives; the article does not disclose revenue or other operating metrics.

• Turntide Technologies

  Participated · Equity · Jun 2022

  Turntide Technologies develops axial flux electric motors, which differ from conventional radial flux designs in magnetic field arrangement and can offer lower weight, reduced packaging requirements and higher power density. The company faces manufacturing challenges for volume production due to production complexity and cost. To address this, Turntide launched Project SUPREME—an 18-month programme running to January 2028—aimed at automating winding, tooling and validation processes to enable higher production volumes. As part of the project it intends to develop and register intellectual property tied to the manufacturing processes. The work is being supported through the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK's DRIVE35 Scale-up Fund, subject to government approval. The article does not provide financial metrics such as revenue or past funding details.

• Baseload Capital

  Led · Convertible Note · May 2022

  Baseload Capital is a Swedish company scaling geothermal energy worldwide by developing and commercializing a global portfolio of projects. Its core offering is a geothermal energy platform and project pipeline that targets underutilized resources to deliver stable, carbon‑free baseload power. The company and its Baseload Power subsidiaries operate in mature markets such as Iceland, the US, and Japan, and in emerging markets like Taiwan. Baseload aims to unlock a broadly unexploited global potential estimated at 200 GWe and 5000 GWth using existing technology. The recently closed funding will be used to commercialize the company’s current portfolio of projects and advance its development platform. Breakthrough Energy Ventures’ participation is noted as a quality mark given BEV’s investment criteria tied to large emissions reductions. Baseload Capital is a Swedish backer of geothermal projects with a portfolio spanning Iceland, Taiwan, Japan and the U.S. The company focuses on developing and financing geothermal assets across various development phases. It signed a €25 million convertible debt facility agreement with UK-based SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust plc (SEEIT) to refinance operational assets and assets in construction or late-stage development and to finance future pipeline projects. The facility carries a 10-year duration after each drawdown and funds become eligible when the bond is redeemed. CEO Alexander Helling said the financing enables Baseload to roll out projects faster and provide project financing to assets under development and construction. SEEIT is listed on the London Stock Exchange, is a FTSE 250 constituent, and has a strong focus on sustainability and ESG. Baseload Capital develops low-temperature geothermal and heat power projects focused on harnessing geothermal and waste heat for affordable renewable heat and power. The company recently took on strategic investment partners to accelerate deployment in key markets. Chevron, Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Gullspang Invest AB are participating, with financing provided via CTV’s Core Venture fund. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed; Baseload said it had been seeking a strategic investor to help accelerate deployment. Baseload and Chevron are planning pilot projects to test the technology and could leverage Baseload’s current operations in Japan, Taiwan, Iceland or the United States. CEO Alexander Helling said Chevron’s expertise in drilling, engineering and exploration is expected to accelerate deployment and strengthen their way of working. Baseload Capital was formed by Swedish parent company Climeon about a year ago to invest in special purpose vehicles that build geothermal power plants using Climeon’s modules. The firm takes equity stakes in those SPVs and also provides debt financing to develop projects. Climeon’s modules stand around two meters cubed and produce about 150 kilowatts of electricity, roughly enough for 250 European households. Modules list for EUR350,000 and customers pay EUR5,000 per-module per-year for Climeon’s power plant management software. Baseload and Climeon target geothermal as well as shipping and heavy industry applications. The company reports an order backlog of roughly $88 million and is developing projects globally, including SPVs in Japan.

No current team members are available.