Backed Malta Inc — molten-salt thermal storage to capture excess solar and wind electricity
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.
Free forever · No ads · Solo developer
If this was worth a read, help make the next entry possible.
Every entry in this archive was researched, verified, and written by one person — for free. No corporate funding. No ad revenue. Just a developer who believes verified history should be accessible to everyone. Your donation directly funds new entries.
Crypto accepted · No subscription required
← Previous
Gates Foundation Backs Development of Next-Generation Bm86-Based Recombinant Tick Vaccine Optimised for African Rhipicephalus Strains
Next →
RAND study declares Gates's $575 million teacher effectiveness initiative a failure
Related Accomplishments
March 2025
Breakthrough Energy Ventures Invests in Savor — Butter Made Directly from Carbon
Breakthrough Energy Ventures backed Savor, a startup that produces butter using carbon dioxide and hydrogen — derived from atmospheric carbon and water — without any conventional agriculture, animals, or farmland. Savor's thermochemical process generates saturated fat with an identical molecular profile to dairy butter while using an estimated 99.9 percent less water and zero agricultural land. The product launched at Michelin-starred restaurants in 2025, with supermarket availability targeted for 2027, as part of Gates's broader bet on food-system decarbonisation.
2024
Breakthrough Energy Catalyst Invests $40 Million in Deep Sky Carbon Removal
Breakthrough Energy Catalyst — Gates's industrial decarbonisation investment vehicle — committed $40 million to Deep Sky, a Quebec-based company developing commercial direct air capture facilities across Canada. The investment marked Catalyst's first in the DAC sector. Deep Sky's Alpha facility in Alberta is designed as a testing ground for multiple next-generation carbon removal technologies, with the goal of proving the cost trajectory needed to make DAC viable at planetary scale.
[ARCHIVE_FUNDING] · INDEPENDENT · NO ADS
One developer. >300 verified entries. Zero ads. Forever free.
No sponsors, no paywall, no algorithm. If this archive has been useful to you, reader support is what keeps it running.
