$ cat ./records/backed-malta-inc-molten-salt-thermal-storage-to-capture-excess-so-2018.txt
Backed Malta Inc — molten-salt thermal storage to capture excess solar and wind electricity
[RECORD.TXT] · cat --full
Breakthrough Energy Ventures led the investment in Malta Inc, a Boston-based startup spun out of Alphabet's X lab that uses a molten-salt and antifreeze thermal storage system to store excess electricity from solar panels and wind turbines as heat and cold, then discharge it back as electricity on demand. The system heats salt to 565°C and cools an antifreeze solution to -70°C in insulated tanks — functioning like a giant rechargeable thermal battery. Malta's approach is designed for utility-scale grid storage at costs far lower than lithium-ion batteries, enabling solar and wind to power the grid around the clock.
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Related Accomplishments
2026
Gates-Backed Commonwealth Fusion Installs Its First Magnet, Racing Toward 2026 'First Plasma'
Commonwealth Fusion Systems — backed by Bill Gates's Breakthrough Energy — hit a major hardware milestone heading into 2026, installing the first of 18 powerful high-temperature superconducting magnets in its SPARC tokamak near Boston. CFS is racing to achieve 'first plasma' in 2026 and net energy gain in 2027, aiming to prove that commercial fusion power is possible. It is among several fusion ventures Gates has funded in his long search for an 'energy miracle' to fight climate change.
2026
TerraPower Begins Building America's First Utility-Scale Advanced Reactor in Wyoming
On April 23, 2026, Bill Gates's nuclear company TerraPower formally began nuclear construction of its first Natrium reactor in Kemmerer, Wyoming — billed as the first utility-scale advanced nuclear power plant built in the United States. The milestone followed the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's approval of the construction permit, and came after earlier work on non-nuclear facilities and a multi-year delay caused by the loss of Russian fuel supplies. The 345-megawatt sodium-cooled reactor, with molten-salt energy storage, is central to Gates's bet that next-generation nuclear can deliver clean, around-the-clock power.
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