Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Heliogen, Backed By Bill Gates, Idealab and Nantworks, Aims At Solar Thermal

Pasadena-based Heliogen, a clean energy startup which is backed by such notable investors as Bill Gates, Idealab and local billionaire Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong of NantWorks, says it has demonstrated for the first time, concentrated solar energy which exceeds temperatures greater than 1,000 degrees Celsius. The startup says it is looking to use sunlight to create and replace fossil fuels, using concentrated sunlight for industrial processes and hydrogen fuel creation. The company--led by Idealab founder and chairman Bill Gross--also has the financial backing of Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft; Neotribe and Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, via Nant Capital, a division of NantWorks. Heliogen said that prior concentrating solar thermal systems have only produced temperatures of up to 565 degrees Celsius, which is useful for power generation but not hot enough for industrial processes. Heliogen is also working with partner Parsons on its efforts. According to Heliogen, as part of its recent funding, both Neotribe's founder and managing director, Swaroop 'Kittu' Kolluri, and Dr. Soon-Shiong have joined its board. The company's pilot plant is in Lancaster.