Slashing CO2Batteries that make solar work 24/7.
Big Picture
Cheap, long-lasting storage is the key to carbon-free energy. Even as electricity from wind and solar power falls below the cost of existing fossil fuel plants, 100% renewable power will stay out of reach until we can smooth out energy supply when the wind dies down or cloudy skies block out the sun. Today, grid-scale storage relies on lithium-ion batteries, which are too expensive and short-lived to do the job.
How It Works
Antora is building an energy storage system with a cost of storage below $10/kWh. The system stores heat in extremely cheap raw materials and converts it back to electricity with a high-efficiency thermophotovoltaic heat engine. In its first application, Antora’s system will absorb excess electricity from wind and solar plants and store it for 10-100+ hours, feeding it back to the grid when demand rises.
Unfair Advantage
Antora has demonstrated the highest efficiency solid-state heat engine in history. This superpower enables the deployment of energy storage so cheap that it competes with natural gas — a price point more than 10x lower than lithium-ion batteries. This will bring down the price of renewable energy with storage below the all-in cost of fossil fuel energy, thus enabling 100% carbon-free energy.
90
Percent cheaper
than lithium-ion for >100 hours of storage
ANDREW PONEC CEO & CO-FOUNDER
Andrew previously founded Dragonfly Systems, a power electronics startup acquired by Sunpower.
JUSTIN BRIGGS COO & CO-FOUNDER
Before co-founding Antora, Justin completed a PhD in applied physics at Stanford University.
DAVID BIERMAN CCO & CO-FOUNDER
Before co-founding Antora, David completed a PhD in mechanical engineering at MIT.
Bill Gates and Chris Sacca invest in energy storage start-up Antora to help heavy industry go green
CNBC
Turning sunshine and wind into 24/7 industrial heat and power — cheaper than fossil fuels
Antora
How a new class of startups are working to solve the grid storage puzzle
MIT Technology Review