Richardson-based energy-as-a-service company Skyven Technologies has been selected for award negotiations up to $145 million from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations.

Skyven is a pioneer in steam generation heat pump technology. Award negotiations refers to a period of time and the scope of activities between the proposal submission and the acceptance of an award.

Arun Gupta

“We’re honored to be one of the groundbreaking projects selected by the DOE,” Skyven founder and CEO Arun Gupta said in a statement. “Funding of this magnitude will dramatically accelerate the decarbonization impact that we will achieve with Skyven Arcturus. We’re proud and excited to deploy our steam-generating heat pump, to improve the global competitiveness of American manufacturing, and to enable a clean, more equitable future for all Americans.”

Skyven said the funding will address critical climate challenges by accelerating the installation of cutting-edge Skyven Arcturus industrial steam-generating heat pumps at manufacturing facilities across the U.S.

“Spurring on the next generation of decarbonization technologies in key industries like steel, paper, concrete, and glass will keep America the most competitive nation on Earth,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm said in a statement. “Thanks to President Biden’s industrial strategy, DOE is making the largest investment in industrial decarbonization in the history of the United States. These investments will slash emissions from these difficult-to-decarbonize sectors and ensure American businesses and American workers remain at the forefront of the global economy.”

Energy + improved air quality

The company said that Skyven Arcturus electrifies steam production, generating boiler-quality steam with zero on-site emissions. It leverages high efficiencies to counteract the price difference between electricity and natural gas, allowing industrial manufacturers across the nation to profitably reduce their emissions.

In total, Skyven said the funding will support Arcturus installations to eliminate over 400,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually and improve air quality nationwide.

Along with decarbonizing industrial steam, Skyven said it’s committed to ensuring that the communities surrounding these manufacturing facilities receive the benefits of this funding.

The company said that Skyven Arcturus projects will improve local air quality and enhance the quality of life for the more than 330,000 people living in neighboring communities. The projects will also create jobs nationwide, helping to develop a diverse and skilled workforce for future industrial heat pump projects.

“Industrial heat pumps have the opportunity to improve efficiency and dramatically cut emissions from industrial thermal processes,” Blaine Collison, executive director at the Renewable Thermal Collaborative, said in a statement. “It’s great to see Skyven removing major market barriers through the combination of their Arcturus industrial heat pump, innovative financial model, and workforce development actions.”

Skyven mission to “do whatever it takes”

Skyven Technologies said its mission is to decarbonize industrial process heat and aims to demonstrate that sustainability and profitability can go hand in hand.

Founded in 2013 by Gupta, a former Texas Instruments (TI) engineer, Skyven Technologies was born out of a desire to make a significant impact on climate change. The entrepreneur has said his life mission, to “do whatever it takes to move the needle on climate change.”. 

Drawing on his experience at TI, where he was a design engineer for Texas Instruments’ Digital Light Processing (DLP) business, which is known for its semiconductor chip containing millions of microscopic mirrors used in cinema projectors everywhere.

Innovative solutions for process heat’s energy consumption

Focused on developing innovative solutions for process heat, which accounts for a substantial portion of industrial energy consumption, Gupta invented the Intelligent Mirror Array, an array of mirrors designed to capture heat from the sun, raising the effective temperature of that heat up to 400°F and injecting it into industrial facilities to reduce fuel consumption.

That led to “an even bigger opportunity” to reduce carbon emissions, according to the entrepreneur. Touring facilities, Gupta saw a need to transform process heating systems that were already installed. 

Gupta’s vision extends beyond technology, as he aims to transform the financing and implementation of industrial decarbonization projects. According to the company, Skyven Technologies “designs, constructs, monitors and maintains energy efficiency projects for industrial process heat” at no capital cost to its customers. 

Skyven works with manufacturers in hard-to-decarbonize industries to reduce their onsite CO2 emissions by delivering clean heat at prices lower than natural gas.”

The innovative approach enables industrial facilities to reduce CO2 emissions and save money, with Skyven sharing the savings realized from the clean thermal energy delivered, the company has noted.

In October, we told you about how Skyven is working to decarbonize the industrial process heating used to manufacture everything from the food we eat to the clothes we wear to the steel and paint on the cars we drive.

Recent funding and milestones

In 2022, Skyven announced a $4 million institutional seed funding round. The round was oversubscribed and was led by VoLo Earth Ventures, along with Global Founders Capital and the SWAN Impact Network.

Skyven also received California Energy Commission grant awards which brought its new capital total at the time to $6.5 million.

Quincy Preston contributed to this report. 

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