MUSCAT: IDO Investments, the venture capital arm of Oman Investment Authority (OIA), is among a number of international companies to have invested in Energy Dome, an Italian-based tech start-up behind the revolutionary CO2 Battery – an energy storage system that makes solar and wind power despatchable 24/7.
A press statement released by Milan-headquartered Energy Dome on Thursday also announced that Energy Dome has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Oman Investment Authority to explore potential areas of collaboration in the Sultanate of Oman.
Muscat-based IDO Investments participated alongside a number of investors in the second tranche of Series B funding for Energy Dome, raising a total of $60 million in the financing round. The first tranche of the Series B round closed in April with leading investors, including Japan Energy Fund, Barclay’s Sustainable Impact Capital, and 360 Capital, contributing to the roughly $45 million tranche.
Energy Dome, established in 2020, says its technology will enable countries around the world to address change urgency with a product that can decarbonize electricity. The battery harnesses the unique characteristics of liquid CO2, maintained under pressure at ambient temperatures, to store energy cost-effectively as part of a closed thermo-dynamic process.
The proprietary CO2 Battery system can store energy efficiently and cost-effectively, with a modular and site-independent footprint. It can store massive amounts of intermittent renewable energy and accelerate the energy transition. Decarbonization is made possible by making solar and wind energy completely dispatchable, removing the intermittency that has kept renewables from integrating into the grid, the company stated.
“Our technology can play a key role in enabling humanity to address the urgency of climate change without waiting until 2030,” said Claudio Spadacini, founder and CEO of Energy Dome. “We offer our customers unparalleled flexibility and value. They can either enter into long-term capacity offtake agreements with Energy Dome, where we will fund, build, own, and operate the CO2 Battery for the customer under a Storage-as-a-Service model. This allows the customer to have reliable, clean and affordable power far below the cost of pumped hydro or lithium ion.”
Energy Dome says the new funding will help finance a project pipeline of more than 9 gigawatt-hours (GWh) for utilities, independent power producers and corporations across five continents. Part of the capital will also be used to complete the development of the company’s 20MW/ 200MWh CO2 Battery project with plans to bring it into operation by the end of 2024.
With the latest announcement involving IDO Investments, Oman Investment Authority has effectively expanded its portfolio of investments in global tech startups focused on clean energy and climate tech initiatives.
Last October, OIA announced an investment in Group14, a US company manufacturing trailblazing battery materials. Group14 specializes in manufacturing innovative lithium-silicon battery materials to replace traditional lithium-ion batteries – currently the mainstay of the global EV industry. Earlier, the Authority announced investments in Ascend Elements, a US-based engineered materials and lithium-ion battery recycling firm.
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