Teraloop secures EUR 2.4 million grant

The Aalto University-born startup recently successfully built a roadmap for the technology’s commercialisation. The next step, made possible by the grant, will be to configure its flywheel energy storage device for energy-intensive industrial clients.

“Our technology demonstrator has shown that we can have a positive impact on energy use and cost for industry,” said Ted Ridgway Watt, CEO at Teraloop. “This grant will be a significant assurance for investors looking to help us deliver that technology into the energy sector”

Teraloop’s solution is an answer to the crucial challenge of ensuring on-demand electricity via renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and hydropower.

The daily ebbs and flows of aggregate human activity require efficient means of storing energy to be able to deal with situations where demand tops supply.

The startup’s solution channels excess supply into a flywheel deep underground, which stores the kinetic energy by spinning a large wheel in a vacuum. The energy is stored in the motion of the flywheel and can be released to the grid when demand rises again, say when people wake up to do their morning routines before work.

“We are very pleased to be recognised at a European level for our role in providing alternatives to electrochemical batteries,” explained Ian Denton, chief engineer at Teraloop.

“The technologies we need for the energy transition are available – now is the time to apply those where they are best suited. Teraloop provides an ideal solution for stationary grid-scale storage, freeing up precious Li-ion resources for electric mobility applications.”

The market potential for the technology is vast. Teraloop expects up to 30 per cent of future energy to pass through an energy-storing device.