MGA Thermal raises $8.25 million for power storage 

As it prepares to commission a demonstration unit for its thermal energy storage system, energy storage company MGA Thermal has announced the raising of an additional $8.25 million, including from existing investors Main Sequence, Varley Holdings, and Melt Ventures. 

“We’re proud of our work and support received to date from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and energy powerhouse Shell,” said Deputy CEO and CCO at MGA Thermal, Mark Croudace. 

A “miscibility gaps alloy” method for storing and disseminating heat for electricity generation that was developed by a team at the University of Newcastle is being brought to market by the company. 

“We’re honoured to welcome new supporters, Pollination Group and Understorey Ventures, whose backing is instrumental in propelling our groundbreaking solution and driving us closer to our goal of revolutionising the renewable energy storage landscape,” said Croudace. 

In 2021, MGA had previously raised $8 million. 

MGA Thermal wants to help utility companies transition from fossil fuels to sustainable energy sources with shoebox-sized thermal power stockpiling blocks. The organisation says a pile of 1,000 blocks is about the size of a little vehicle and can store sufficient energy to drive 27 homes for 24 hours. This empowers utility suppliers to store a lot of energy and have it prepared to dispatch in any event when weather patterns aren’t great for creating solar or wind power. 

Furthermore, the modular blocks make it simpler to transform infrastructure into grid-scale energy storage, such as coal-fired power plants.

The demo unit at the organisation’s Tomago site has gotten financing of $1.27 million from ARENA and $560,000 from Shell and will be sent off in the future. 

The company claimed that it would be able to hire for engineering and commercial positions with the new funding.