Electrified Thermal Solutions: Industry Trailblazer in Thermal Energy Storage
Activate Fellows are pioneering new possibilities in thermal energy storage. Why is this a big deal? By reimagining how we power industry—the largest global source of emissions—they are enabling decarbonization in some of the hardest-to-abate sectors.
Electrified Thermal Solutions (Dan Stack & Joey Kabel, Cohort 2021) is a leader in this category. With its breakthrough technology—a firebrick that converts and stores electricity as heat—the company aims to replace every fossil fuel heat source with an electrical source.
Read the following Q&A with ETS co-founder and CEO Dan Stack to learn about the journey from the lab to industry leadership.
What is the most exciting thing happening in thermal energy storage right now?
Thermal batteries have become recognized as the frontrunner pathway for replacing fossil fuels in the industrial sector—while saving money. Now, industrial users, electrical utilities, and energy traders are coming to the table to take advantage of the win-win that thermal batteries offer for both the electrical grid and high-heat processes.
Where are you commercially?
We are set to operate our first megawatt-scale Joule Hive thermal battery this year, with deployment to customer sites in 2026. We are thrilled to have the support of a $5M IEDO grant from the Department of Energy and the collaboration of industrial partners 3M, Buzzi Unicem, and Amy’s Kitchen as we explore first sites for deployment.
What were the biggest challenges of commercializing your technology?
The key requirements for adoption of an alternative heat source in industry are 1) building comfort with industrial customers on the tech side and 2) coming in at or below the price point of their “business-as-usual” heat source.
Building our Joule Hive thermal battery bigger and running it longer is exactly what we’re doing with our commercial demonstration, where industrials can come and kick the tires. In parallel, we work closely with customers and players in the electricity sector to establish the locations where Joule Hive saves them money while decarbonizing them.
How did Activate help you to overcome these challenges?
As first-time founders with technical backgrounds, Activate introduced us to the many dimensions of building and operating an impact-driven company. In particular, it taught us to see things from the eyes of our stakeholders and customers, and focus on how to both develop value and communicate value to them effectively.
What impact do you envision for ETS?
Roughly 20 percent of carbon emissions today come from industrial activities. Our vision is industry electrified: a Joule Hive thermal battery in every furnace, turbine, boiler, and kiln by 2045, powered by solar, nuclear, hydro, and wind power. This would result in a double-digit percentage of global primary energy flowing through Joule Hive technology, and a similar percentage of CO2 emissions prevented every year.
Read about more Activate Fellows who have moved from the lab, to commercialization, to defining new industries in Activate’s 2024 Annual Report.
