Pasadena Company Awarded $39 Million for Clean Energy Technology

Pasadena-headquartered renewable energy technology company Heliogen has finalized a $39 million award from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for the deployment of the company’s new technology that aims to accelerate clean energy transition in the country.

The firm made the announcement on Dec. 20.

The DOE’s funds will support the implementation of Heliogen’s new solar technology “which couples its AI-powered heliostat field with a supercritical carbon dioxide power cycle.”

According to the firm, the AI-enabled technology is expected to unlock the production of low-cost, carbon-free energy in the form of heat, power, or green hydrogen fuel.

“We’re proud to lead the way for clean energy through the deployment of breakthrough technologies that utilize sunlight to displace fossil fuels,” said Heliogen Founder and CEO, Bill Gross. “The large and ambitious scope of this DOE award adds momentum to deployment of Heliogen’s breakthrough AI-enabled, modular concentrated solar solution for carbon-free energy at scale.”

The DOE’s Solar Energy Technologies Office previously announced Heliogen’s selection to begin negotiating the award on November 12, 2020.

The office supports projects that are expected to improve the affordability, reliability, and value of solar technologies on the U.S. grid and tackle emerging challenges in the solar industry.

Heliogen was created at Idealab, a leading technology incubator founded by Gross in 1996 and located in Old Pasadena.