Andrew Ponec

Roughly 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions come from industrial processes in factories that make the things we use in our daily lives. Most of the energy that sector consumes is in the form of heat, and nearly all of that heat is generated from burning fossil fuels.

Wind and solar power might be able to help, but to date they haven’t been feasible solutions because they’re not available all the time, whereas factories can run 24/7. Andrew Ponec, 31, aims to bridge that gap. As cofounder and CEO of Antora Energy, he’s working to create thermal batteries that can take in cheap, low-emissions electricity when it’s available and store it as heat to disperse later.

Antora’s technology works by running electricity through carbon blocks—resistive heating warms the blocks up to temperatures over 2,000 °C (3,632 °F). That heat can then be applied in industrial processes, like those used to make food and paper. Antora plans to someday use a technology called thermophotovoltaic cells to turn the heat back into electricity for customers who want other ways to use the stored energy.  

Ponec and his cofounders set out to reduce emissions as much as possible, so they focused on cleaning up heavy industry—a sector that needs a lot of help. They explored other tools, including rail electrification, mining technology, and a range of batteries, but eventually landed on thermal energy storage, starting Antora in 2018.

The company is now building out its California factory to produce more thermal batteries for customers. Antora recently raised $150 million from investors and received a $14.5 million grant from a US Department of Energy agency.

While cleaning up transportation or agriculture might be more top of mind for most people, addressing heavy industry and other behind-the-scenes sectors is a crucial part of climate action, Ponec says: “We have the opportunity to eliminate a huge amount of carbon emissions.”