Industrial heat and power solution provider Antora Energy announced plans for a new Kansas- based 5.8 GWh thermal battery storage project, anticipated to become one of the largest battery storage systems in the world once completed, with backing from investors including Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Grok Ventures.
The new battery storage project will be based at renewable fuel producer Pratt Energy’s biorefinery in Pratt, Kansas. Alongside the new project announcement, Antora also announced an offtake agreement to supply around-the-clock energy to Pratt Energy.
Founded in 2018, California-based Antora develops thermal batteries that store low-cost electricity as heat in insulated blocks of solid carbon and deliver the stored energy around the clock as industrial heat or power.
The project’s third-party equity financing was led by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) as part of its credit platform investments, and included participation from Australian climate-focused investment firm Grok Ventures and University Pension Plan Ontario (UPP).
Reiner Boehning, Partner at Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, said:
“Antora has demonstrated something rare: sound technology, compelling economic fundamentals, and a clear path to repeatable deployment at scale. That gave us the conviction to partner with Antora on this project.”
Under the new offtake agreement, Antora will supply energy from the 5.8 GWh thermal battery system to Pratt Energy beginning in 2027. The battery will store low-cost electricity as heat in solid carbon blocks and supply that heat continuously to the biorefinery. The companies said that the project will improve Pratt’s operational efficiency and product competiveness, as well as supporting the company’s efforts toward producing 100% zero-carbon-intensity (CI) ethanol.
David Bierman, co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer of Antora, said:
“Our partnership with Pratt Energy delivers it, helping meet Kansas’s rising energy demand without increasing power bills for homes or businesses. This biorefinery project is creating jobs and spurring local investment without straining the resources the community depends on.”
