Malta Raises $50M to Commercialize its Long Duration Energy Storage System
Series B led by Proman enables Malta to accelerate the transition to 24/7 renewables
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Feb. 24, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Malta Inc., a pioneer in long-duration energy storage, today announced it has raised $50M in a Series B round of funding. The financing was led by integrated energy group Proman with participation from new investor Dustin Moskovitz and existing investors Alfa Laval and Breakthrough Energy Ventures.
"Our goal continues to be to create a scalable storage solution that will accelerate the expansion of renewable energy while improving grid stability and resilience. We are gratified by our investors' recognition of our achievements and their confidence in our ability to execute on this exciting new phase," said Ramya Swaminathan, CEO of Malta Inc.
David Cassidy, Chief Executive of Proman, Malta's lead investor, says, "There is an exponential global need for long-duration, low-cost energy storage solutions, and we are excited to work with the Malta team and our new partners to progress Malta's highly scalable and technically robust solution. Alongside our investment, Proman will bring complementary design, engineering and construction expertise to the Malta PHES technology as we begin work with Malta on a commercial scale plant."
The Malta Pumped Heat Energy Storage (PHES) system leverages well-understood thermodynamic systems in a novel energy storage application. The PHES system converts electricity from any source, either directly from a generation facility or from the grid, to be stored as thermal energy. The Malta system is able to satisfy a daily or weekly load cycle by efficiently storing up to 200 hours of energy storage, though early systems will focus on current market applications in need of 10- to 12-hour durations. In addition to dispatchable renewable energy, Malta's PHES technology generates heat for industrial and district heat applications.
Investors explain the need for long-duration energy storage and Malta's system:
"The promise of fully dispatchable renewables is dependent on long-duration energy storage solutions," said Carmichael Roberts of Breakthrough Energy Ventures. "We are excited about the progress the team at Malta has made and the impact this system will soon have on reducing carbon emissions globally."
"We believe that thermal storage will play an important role in the energy transition," says Susanne Pahlén Åklundh, President of Alfa Laval's Energy Division. "After working with the Malta team for the past two years on novel heat exchanger design and development, we remain excited about this solution and the potential impact it can have on climate change."
"Malta's innovative application of well-established technologies and materials could accelerate the roll out of long duration storage to support the transition to fully dispatchable renewable energy," said Dustin Moskovitz.
About Malta Inc.
Malta is a developer of grid-scale long-duration thermal energy storage solutions. Incubated at X, the Moonshot Factory (formerly Google [X]), Malta is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. For more information visit www.maltainc.com.
This is Alfa Laval
Alfa Laval is active in the areas of Energy, Marine, and Food & Water, offering its expertise, products, and service to a wide range of industries in some 100 countries. The company is committed to optimizing processes, creating responsible growth, and driving progress – always going the extra mile to support customers in achieving their business goals and sustainability targets.
Alfa Laval's innovative technologies are dedicated to purifying, refining, and reusing materials, promoting more responsible use of natural resources. They contribute to improved energy efficiency and heat recovery, better water treatment, and reduced emissions. Thereby, Alfa Laval is not only accelerating success for its customers, but also for people and the planet. Making the world better, every day. It's all about Advancing better™.
Alfa Laval has 16,700 employees. Annual sales in 2020 were SEK 41.5 billion (approx. EUR 4 billion). The company is listed on Nasdaq OMX. www.alfalaval.com.
About Breakthrough Energy Ventures
Backed by many of the world's top business leaders, Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV) invests in cutting-edge companies that will lead the world to net-zero emissions. BEV has more than $2 billion in committed capital to support bold entrepreneurs building companies that can significantly reduce emissions from agriculture, buildings, electricity, manufacturing, and transportation. BEV's strategy links government-funded research and patient, risk-tolerant capital to bring transformative clean energy innovations to market as quickly as possible.
The first fund was created in 2016 as part of the Breakthrough Energy network of initiatives and entities, which include investment funds, non-profit and philanthropic programs, and policy efforts linked by a shared commitment to scale the technologies needed to address climate change and achieve a path to net zero emissions by 2050. Visit https://www.breakthroughenergy.org/ to learn more.
About Proman
Headquartered in Switzerland, with production assets in the United States, Trinidad and Tobago and Oman, and ongoing expansion into Mexico and Canada, Proman is an integrated energy group and global leader in methanol and ammonia production. With a fully integrated and diversified value chain, Proman has extensive experience in engineering and construction, product marketing and logistics, and project development and management. Proman is committed to investing in and providing services to innovative and forward-looking energy solutions, including the development of sustainable methanol and ammonia as clean energy carriers, and offering solutions for cutting emissions in the chemical, power generation, overland transportation, shipping and industrial sectors. Learn more at www.proman.org
SOURCE Malta Inc
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