Heatcube gets a EUR 4 million investment to scale up its molten salt-based thermal energy storage from Nefco
Press Release:Nefco
Nefco – the Nordic Green Bank – has signed a loan agreement with Kyoto Group AS, a Norwegian company that has developed a heat storage technology based on molten salt. The EUR 4 million investment will support the international scale-up of Kyoto Group’s thermal energy storage offering, Heatcube. The EUR 4 million loan from Nefco will accelerate the Norwegian company’s growth after the successful commissioning of its first full-scale commercial demonstration plant.
Kyoto Group’s solution is responding to the increasing demand for sustainable and renewable energy solutions to replace fossil fuels in industrial heating. In industrial processes, heat storage can help improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions. However, industries requiring large volumes of process steam are often dependent on fossil fuel boilers: coal, oil and natural gas account for about 75% of the total fuel supply.
Kyoto Heatcube provides thermal energy storage and heat generation in one product; thus, it can replace fossil fuel boilers with sustainable heat storage. Based on molten salt, Heatcube can store large amounts of energy for several hours or even days. It can also provide more consistent power for energy storage systems compared to systems based on wind or solar energy.
Søren Berg Rasmussen, Investment Manager at Nefco, comments: “Electrifying the generation of process steam has a major positive environmental impact as it can lead to the decarbonisation of hard-to-abate sectors. After the successful commissioning of Kyoto Group’s commercial demonstration plant and two important projects initiated in 2023, there is now great momentum for Nefco to join in as a financier and further accelerate the company’s growth.”
Kyoto Heatcube’s technology allows its industrial customers to lower both their costs for producing process heat and their CO2 emissions. The company’s first full-scale commercial project was commissioned in Denmark at Norbis Park (formerly known as Nordjyllandsværket), a large combined heat and power (CHP) plant, in September 2023.
“Kyoto is prepared for substantial commercial Heatcube deployments, supported by partnerships with esteemed financial institutions like Nefco. This readiness is underpinned by confirmed contracts, a robust project pipeline, validated Heatcube performance, and key partnerships, including with Iberdrola, a world leader in renewable energy, and Spirax Sarco, a world leader in thermal energy management,” says Håvard Haukdal, CFO, Kyoto Group.
For further information, please contact:
Søren Berg Rasmussen, Investment Manager, Nefco
soren.rasmussen@nefco.int, +358 10 618 0674
Håvard Haukdal, CFO, Kyoto Group
havard.haukdal@kyotogroup.no, +47 48 10 65 69
About Kyoto Group
Heat accounts for two-thirds of industrial energy consumption. Traditionally, nearly all of it is based on fossil fuels. Kyoto Group’s Heatcube, a thermal energy storage (TES) solution, provides a sustainable and cost-effective alternative by capturing and storing abundant but variable energy from sources such as solar and wind. Founded in 2016, Kyoto Group is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, and has subsidiaries in Spain and Denmark. Kyoto’s shares are listed on Euronext Growth (ticker: KYOTO). www.kyotogroup.no
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