Rondo Energy fired up its first full-scale thermal battery in California—a 100 MWh heat storage system powered by a 20 MW solar array. (Canary Media)
The battery stores excess solar power as ultra-high heat in brick towers, replacing fossil-gas boilers to generate steam for enhanced oil recovery. Emissions drop by 13K tons a year—but the end product is still oil.
It’s a pragmatic bet: Oil demand isn’t vanishing tomorrow, and Rondo needs paying customers to prove its tech at scale. With traction, the same system could one day decarbonize glass, cement, or chemicals.
With federal industrial decarb grants slashed, Rondo is shifting focus to California and Europe, where carbon costs and electricity markets better reward this kind of innovation.