Hampshire-based low carbon heating tech startup Caldera has secured a £10m investment from major German industrial group GEA.
GEA, which is mostly active in the food and beverages sector, plans to use the company’s green heating solutions for its customers.
Caldera has developed a boiler that stores renewable electricity sourced from on-site solar panels and green energy from the grid as heat.
The company is targeting industries reliant on gas boilers such as breweries, distilleries, food manufacturers and pharma, all of which source equipment from GEA.
According to Caldera, a fifth of all industrial energy demand is for heat up to 200ºC – generally delivered as steam – which is mostly generated by gas.
Combined with the investor’s own heat pump systems, GEA said the addition of Caldera’s technology would support the decarbonisation of industrial processes.
“The market for industrial heat is changing fast. Decarbonisation isn’t a distant goal – it’s happening now,” said Kai Becker, CEO of GEA’s heating and refrigeration technologies division.
“Across industry, we’re seeing major benefits in electrification and thermal storage, and at GEA, we’re moving decisively to lead this transition.
Caldera said its heating system not only reduces carbon use, but can also run cheaper than gas systems with low-cost solar energy.
“The investment from GEA is a game-changing opportunity for our company and a strong endorsement of our technology. In addition there is a very strong cultural fit between both companies driven by sustainability and engineering excellence,” said Caldera CEO James Macnaghten.
“We look forward to seeing electric storage boilers become a widely adopted technology in industries from brewing and distilling to food and pharma, with the ultimate goal of reducing carbon emissions for the benefit of all.”
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