Six investors led by Shell Ventures join in series B to accelerate decarbonization in the industry
Kraftblock, producer of sustainable high-temperature energy storage systems, has raised a total of €20 million in a Series B financing round.
A consortium of six companies under the lead of Shell Ventures take part in the Germany-based scale-up’s mission to decarbonise the industry. In 2020, Kees Koolen already invested in the unique thermal energy storage with its cleantech platform Koolen Industries. Koolen is joined now by Finindus, a Belgian VC investment company funded by global steel producer ArcelorMittal and the Flemish Region, the energy transition tech fund from A&G, the largest private bank in Spain, TechEnergy Ventures from Techint Group, Future Industry Ventures and Moore Strategic Ventures from the USA.
With its patented and sustainable thermal energy storage technology, Kraftblock facilitates energy-intensive industries whose energy consumption is very difficult to decarbonize. These include steel, cement, glass and metal processing plants. Kraftblock's storage system enables industrial players not only to use renewable energy from wind and solar by storing it as heat up to 1,300°C, but also to recycle waste heat, for example from blast furnaces or flare gases, leading to significantly higher overall energy efficiency.
In Europe, 2,860 TWh of waste heat is lost every year. This is almost as much as the total European demand for heat and hot water. Using this waste heat requires extraordinary technology, engineering and materials. Kraftblock provides this with a field-proven heat storage product. Recently, Kraftblock announced a project with PepsiCo and Eneco to build the world's largest commercial high-temperature storage facility in Broek op Langedijk in the Netherlands.
Impact investment to reduce global emissions
The investment will be used to accelerate the company's growth. "We've created a great opportunity to pursue our goal of having a big impact on reducing carbon emissions," says CEO and co-founder Dr Martin Schichtel. "This year, climate change is giving us a glimpse of the destruction it can bring, and we need to stop it. Kraftblock's role is to stop emissions from thermal processes and this investment proves the need for our technology and helps us to scale it up to have a faster impact".
"Sustainable alternatives for high temperature thermal storage are of paramount importance to realize the energy transition. Kraftblock has a unique solution that allows us to help customers in energy-intensive industries reduce their CO2 emissions. Congratulations to Martin and the team at Kraftblock for securing this round of investment. Together we continue to work towards our common goal: Clean Energy for Everyone."
Kees Koolen, founder and CEO of Koolen Industries.
Sign of validation in the global market for Kraftblock
Susanne König, CFO and co-founder of Kraftblock, underlines the importance of this financing round: “At a time when there are very limited funding opportunities for start-ups, we are proud to have closed this Series B round. It shows the resilience and solid business of Kraftblock and proves our great potential.” The investment will be used for example to further expand the team and add production capability.
Kraftblock already operates out of Europe, and the new partners will strengthen its visibility around the globe. "We specifically chose investors who have their roots in industries such as food, steel and energy and who will help us to consolidate our leading market position," explains CEO Schichtel. As well as branching out in Europe and taking on energy-intensive industries such as chemicals, oil and gas and steel in the Netherlands, Belgium and Europe, the partners are creating new opportunities in the US market and providing access to industries such as mining and energy in Latin America.
Contact For more information about Kraftblock visit www.kraftblock.com | Visuals In our press kit, you find images, videos and documents with more information. |