MGA Thermal gathers steam with $5.7M funding boost

MGA Thermal CEO Erich Kisi in dark room with thermal storage blocks
MGA Thermal CEO Erich Kisi with thermal storage blocks

Australian clean energy company MGA Thermal has closed an additional $5.7 million in funding, taking its recent round total to approximately $14 million, to prove the scale and industrial capabilities of its thermal energy storage systems.

Related article: MGA Thermal secures $8.25m in investment drive

This round was supported by returning investors including Main Sequence, Melt Ventures and new investor JEKARA. The funding brings its total funds and grants raised to date to approximately $28.8 million.

MGA Thermal’s fundraising extension generated strong support from existing investors, validating the company’s cutting-edge Miscibility Gaps Alloy (MGA) Thermal Blocks and Thermal Energy Storage (TES) system for industrial applications.

Towards the end of 2023, MGA Thermal initiated the commissioning process for its demonstration unit to evaluate the capabilities and boundaries of the technology. During this phase, areas for improvement were identified, leading the company to temporarily pause operations to address them.

MGA Thermal CEO Mark Croudace said, “This was a valuable learning opportunity that will ultimately strengthen our TES system development. We’ve gained insights that will help accelerate our progress as we prepare to resume commissioning of our demonstration unit.

“MGA Thermal remains at the forefront of clean energy innovation and large-scale energy storage. Our mission and intention of revolutionising the renewable energy landscape has never been stronger, and with the continued support of our investors and partners, we remain on track to reach our next business milestone of commercial-scale operations and energy output.”

Investment from this latest raise will support MGA Thermal’s next phase of testing to reinstate and prove the scale of its TES system and produce sufficient high-pressure, high-temperature clean steam for rising industrial demand.

Following its completion, the demonstration unit will be a world-first example of MGA Thermal’s TES technology in operation. The closed-loop system will showcase the future of renewable thermal energy, commencing with the charging of renewable electricity into MGA Thermal’s storage blocks before discharging clean steam production.

“We have continued working with numerous industrial partners and clients over the last six months which cannot solely rely on solar, wind and renewable energy sources to meet their decarbonisation goals,” Croudace said.

Related article: ARENA backing supercharges MGA Thermal storage

“We’re excited to realise the next phase of our partnerships through the implementation of an onsite MGA Thermal TES system to supply ongoing clean-steam and energy storage capabilities.”

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