Exclusive: Finnish investors among backers of U.S. thermal battery maker

Calectra, a company that electrifies industrial heat, has raised $2 million in a combination of a pre-seed equity round and grants to continue to develop its technology, the company tells Axios.

Why it matters: A combination of low cost clean energy and government support have led to the emergence of startups focused on electrifying heat used by sectors like steel, cement and chemicals.

Zoom in: Calectra, based in Oakland, Calif., raised a $1.6 million round from lead investor Finnish VCs Lifeline Ventures, and including Aera VC, Orca Climate Fund, Wave Ventures, and Prodeko Ventures.

• Security Trading, the investment company of Finnish billionaire Antti Herlin's family, also participated. Herlin is chairman of Kone Corporation, a major elevator and escalator maker.
• The remaining $400,000 came from grant funding from the US government and New York State. Calectra is also part of the Activate program.
• Calectra CEO and co-founder Pauliina Meskanen said the company plans to use the funds to work on its tech before it raises a seed round in late 2025 or early 2026.

How it works: Calectra, founded in 2023, stores clean electricity as high temperature heat in its bricks that a customer can use on-demand for manufacturing processes.

• While there are other companies that are building so-called thermal batteries, Calectra is focused on delivering high temperature heat, up to 1600°C. Most other tech solutions are best suited for low and medium temperature heat, says Meskanen.
• Sectors that utilize this high temperature heat include steel, glass, cement, chemicals and aluminum.
• The idea is that the combo of the company's low cost bricks and low cost clean electricity, would convince manufacturers to tap electricity for high heat instead of turning to other more carbon-intensive methods.

Follow the money: Thermal batteries have emerged as a hot tech over the past year.

• Antora Energy raised a $150 million Series B round earlier this year. Rondo Energy is raising a growth round north of $100 million.

The big picture: Around 20% of the world's energy demand goes into making heat for industrial processes and almost all of that is produced by fossil fuels.

• If just a portion of that heat was produced with clean electricity, it could slash serious carbon emissions.

Editor's note: This story was updated to correct that Calectra is still part of the Activate program and to clarify details on the company's delivery of high heat.