Voya Energy has closed a $35 million Series A led by Energy Impact Partners to commercialise an energy system that turns aluminum into electricity. The round drew participation from John Doerr, Mantis VC, StepStone, Founders Fund, Overmatch, and Seven Stars.
Revolutionizing Clean Energy with Scrap Aluminum
In 2025, a startup based in Hayward, California, introduced an innovative approach to energy generation. The company utilizes a unique aluminum-based metal fuel, sourced from low-grade scrap aluminum, which is transformed into electricity through a proprietary, low-temperature electrochemical process. This technology operates without combustion, thereby eliminating air emissions at the point of use. This method not only provides a clean energy solution but also offers a sustainable way to repurpose aluminum waste.
Voya Revolutionizes Power Solutions for Large-Scale Users
Voya is geared toward data centers, industrial users, and other large-scale energy consumers who face challenges with grid limitations, permitting issues, or the logistics of fuel supply. The company's industrial-sized solution, housed within a standard 20-foot container, is engineered to provide up to two megawatts of power. Voya claims that when deployed extensively, the technology could yield approximately 100 megawatts of power generation and 10 gigawatt-hours of energy storage per acre. This capacity is significantly more efficient, being roughly four times more compact than fleets of diesel generators and 100 times more than large-scale battery setups on the grid.
The financing is earmarked for technological advancements, the commencement of initial deployments in 2027, and a ramp-up in manufacturing by 2028. Voya is collaborating with nearly a dozen companies from various sectors, including data centers, industry, transportation, utilities, and infrastructure, for pilot demonstrations in the near term.
America urgently requires a substantial increase in electricity to fuel our industries, empower our communities, and sustain economic expansion," stated John Doerr, founder of Doerr Capital and chair at Kleiner Perkins. He emphasized that meeting this demand necessitates innovative technologies capable of delivering clean, consistent power swiftly and on a large scale. Reflecting investor confidence in reliable power solutions that can bypass traditional grid dependencies, this funding round ranks within the top 6% of all U.S. Series A rounds in the energy sector by size. As the surge in data center requirements puts pressure on utilities, investment is increasingly directed towards startups that promise rapid, onsite electricity provision.