Heliogen and NantG Power Announce Strategic Collaboration to Innovate Solar Thermal Calcination Design
Research & design for cutting-edge pilot calcination facility to advance sustainable energy storage technologies
PASADENA, Calif. & CULVER CITY, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Heliogen, Inc. (“Heliogen”) (NYSE: HLGN), a leading provider of AI-enabled concentrating solar energy technology, and NantG Power, LLC, an advanced battery and manufacturing company developing a radical new approach to designing and manufacturing batteries, today announced an engineering services agreement to leverage Heliogen’s core intellectual property to develop a pilot solar thermal calcination facility.
Under the agreement, Heliogen, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Heliogen Holdings, Inc., will provide front-end concept design services and research and development (“R&D”) engineering services, paving the way for NantG Power to purchase a commercial-scale calcination facility. The scope of this initial contract includes field testing at Heliogen’s demonstration-scale facility in Lancaster, CA, the development of a technoeconomic model for a future commercial facility, and preliminary engineering services for a new pilot calcination facility. This initial work will serve as a basis for the future deployment of commercial-scale calcination facilities.
NantG Power expects the impact of such process improvements to be transformational in the battery materials supply chain, enabling the company to produce anode and cathode active materials close to domestic mining sites. Moreover, the collaboration is expected to limit the infrastructure upgrades needed, including electrical power generation and transmission, while avoiding shipping of unrefined feedstock materials across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, resulting in a more environmentally friendly supply chain for calcination.
“As an early investor in Heliogen, we clearly see the transformative value of their novel solar thermal energy technologies,” said Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, NantG Power’s Chairman. “We are highly confident in Heliogen’s growth and ability under the current management team, led by Christie Obiaya, to successfully execute on its strategic plan and deliver value for all stakeholders. Our contract with Heliogen not only reaffirms this confidence, but also highlights the growing market demand for sustainable, clean energy storage alternatives like the ones NantG Power is developing. By harnessing the power of concentrated sunlight, Heliogen’s solutions can replace the need for fossil fuels and reduce the carbon footprint of industries, such as ceramic powders manufacturing, that rely on calcination. In addition to the materials processing benefits of reducing carbon emissions, we believe the process will be more profitable and economically impactful by creating more technical jobs, have higher throughput manufacturing and the ability to produce materials domestically.”
As part of the agreement, which was executed in March, Heliogen will be compensated by NantG on a time and materials basis.
“We are excited to begin this collaboration with NantG Power, which demonstrates the market attractiveness of Heliogen’s concentrating solar thermal technology for carbon-intensive industries that use calcination processes, such as cement and lithium extraction,” said Christie Obiaya, Chief Executive Officer of Heliogen, Inc. “Importantly, this relationship enables us to effectively fund certain R&D activities without compromising our cost reduction initiative. By maintaining an externally funded, separate resource pool for this project, we ensure that our commercial team remains focused on the successful deployment of our highest technical readiness product—our commercial-scale steam unit. This balance between innovation and commercialization is essential to driving sustainable growth for Heliogen and delivering groundbreaking clean energy solutions to our partners and customers.”
Heliogen’s innovative solar technologies have the potential to disrupt traditional calcination processes and bring about a more sustainable future. Heliogen previously announced a $4.1 million award granted from the Department of Energy for R&D into pathways for commercial implementation of a solar thermal calciner.
About Heliogen
Heliogen is a renewable energy technology company focused on decarbonizing industry and empowering a sustainable civilization. The company’s concentrating solar energy and thermal storage systems aim to deliver carbon-free heat, steam, power, or green hydrogen at scale to support round-the-clock industrial operations. Powered by AI, computer vision and robotics, Heliogen is focused on providing robust clean energy solutions that accelerate the transition to renewable energy, without compromising reliability, availability, or cost. For more information about Heliogen, please visit heliogen.com.
About NantG Power
NantG Power delivers battery technology breakthroughs that enable the world’s fastest growing industries including renewable energy storage, electrification of automobiles, aviation, and heavy equipment, consumer electronics and data centers among others. We are dedicated to intelligently identifying, developing, and deploying the most innovative technologies in order to leave the world a better place than we found it by using a combination of novel materials, designs, and approaches, along with world-class data analytics developed for solving another crucial challenge of tomorrow-cancer.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Statements that are not historical in nature, including the words “anticipate,” “expect,” “suggests,” “plan,” “believe,” “intend,” “estimates,” “targets,” “projects,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “may,” “will,” “forecast” and other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding expectations for solar thermal calcination, including its potential to disrupt traditional calcination processes, and the potential development of commercial-scale calcination facilities. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause actual future events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this press release, including but not limited to: (i) our financial and business performance, including risk of uncertainty in our financial projections and business metrics and any underlying assumptions thereunder; (ii) changes in our business and strategy, future operations, financial position, estimated revenues and losses, projected costs, prospects and plans; (iii) our ability to execute our business model, including market acceptance of our planned products and services and achieving sufficient production volumes at acceptable quality levels and prices; (iv) our ability to maintain listing on the New York Stock Exchange; (v) our ability to access sources of capital to finance operations, growth and future capital requirements; (vi) our ability to maintain and enhance our products and brand, and to attract and retain customers; (vii) our ability to scale in a cost effective manner; (viii) changes in applicable laws or regulations; (ix) developments and projections relating to our competitors and industry; and (x) our ability to protect our intellectual property. You should carefully consider the foregoing factors and the other risks and uncertainties disclosed in the “Risk Factors” section in Part I, Item 1A in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the annual period ended December 31, 2022 and other documents filed by Heliogen from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These filings identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and Heliogen assumes no obligation and does not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
Contacts
Heliogen Media Contact:
Cory Ziskind
ICR, Inc.
Heliogen Investor Contact:
Louis Baltimore
NANT Media Contact
Jen Hodson
