MILAN (Reuters) - Energy Dome, an Italian startup focusing on CO2 energy storage solutions, said on Friday it had raised 40 million euros ($44 million) from investors to fund expansion in the U.S.
The funding round was led by the venture capital arms of energy group Eni and Intesa Sanpaolo (BIT:ISP) as well other international investors, bringing total investments raised so far by Energy Dome to around 54 million euros.
Other investors include Barclays (LON:BARC)' Sustainable Impact Capital, state-backed CDP Venture Capital and Japan Energy Fund.
Energy Dome said it has developed a battery that stores renewable energy in a cost-effective way by turning carbon dioxide (CO2) gas into a liquid and vice-versa.
"Our CO2 Battery is ready for the market and, after closing the Series B round, we are ready to guarantee its performance to any customer that is real about getting rid of fossil fuels and substituting with dispatchable renewable energies," Energy Dome founder and CEO Claudio Spadacini said.
Energy Dome said it was already working with several utilities, independent power producers and corporate customers.
The partnerships, which Energy Dome aims to expand with proceeds from the funding round, have generated a pipeline of more than nine Gigawatt hours in markets such as the United States, Europe, South America, India and Australia, it said.
The company will focus particularly on the U.S. market, where it aims to make the most of opportunities from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the associated Investment Tax Credits available for utility-scale energy storage.
($1 = 0.9100 euros)