Voltanova Powers Industrial Future with Thermal Energy Storage

In the evolving narrative of India’s energy transition, the question of long-duration, cost-effective, and sustainable energy storage looms large. While lithium-ion batteries dominate today’s headlines, they are not without challenges—high costs, resource dependencies, and limited lifespans. This is where Voltanova enters the story, with a bold alternative: thermal energy storage systems designed to meet the demands of heavy industry.

Founded on the vision of delivering 24/7 green power and heat at a fraction of the cost of lithium-ion, Voltanova is rewriting the possibilities of industrial decarbonization. With engineered carbon-based materials capable of storing temperatures up to 2,000 °C, their solution offers multi-week storage, unmatched efficiency, and a 40-year lifespan.

Shweta Kumari, Sub-Editor of The Battery Magazine, had the opportunity to speak with Jaicky Kumar, Co-founder & CEO of Voltanova. In this exclusive exchange, they explored how thermal ESS can reshape industrial energy, unlock new economics, and accelerate India’s clean energy future.

1. Your thermal-ESS approach positions Voltanova as an alternative to lithium-ion for long-duration industrial storage. Can you walk us through the core physics and chemistry of your thermal battery — how it stores and dispatches energy, round-trip efficiency you consistently achieve in field tests, and the degradation profile compared with lithium-ion systems?

Our thermal energy storage system addresses the limitations of lithium-ion by focusing on industrial needs: long-duration storage, high-temperature output, and cost efficiency. We utilize surplus renewable electricity as well as waste heat to charge engineered carbon-based materials, capable of holding temperatures up to 2,000 °C with high energy density. This enables multi-week storage and dispatch with 95% round-trip efficiency. The system operates at roughly one-fifth the cost and has an expected lifespan of 40 years.

2. Voltanova claims materially lower levelized cost of storage and the potential for 100% domestic sourcing. Can you break down the unit economics (CAPEX per kWh and LCOE) for typical industrial deployments today, and explain which components remain the biggest cost or supply-chain risks? –

At Voltanova, our thermal energy storage enables industries to reduce energy costs by up to 30% while achieving up to 100% carbon abatement. We have built our system on abundant, carbon-based materials that are fully domestically sourced, eliminating exposure to rare earths and critical mineral risks. This positions us not just as a cost-effective alternative, but as a scalable solution. As we expand manufacturing, we see a clear trajectory for further cost reductions, making round-the-clock clean energy an inevitable reality for industry.

3. You’ve announced orders / order-interest and grant funding recently. What is your commercialization roadmap for 2025–27 — pilot validations, manufacturing scaleup (in-house or contract), expected serial production capacity, and the financing model you’re using to take pilots to full industrial rollouts?

Our commercialization roadmap is very clear. In 2025, our focus is on deploying systems at our existing customers’ sites. These deployments are critical for demonstrating long-duration performance, seamless integration with existing infrastructure, and building customer confidence. From 2026 onward, we will scale manufacturing to achieve serial production capacity and serve multi-MW deployments. On financing, we are pursuing multiple models to ensure customers can adopt thermal energy storage without heavy upfront costs. This phased approach allows us to de-risk the technology, scale efficiently, and meet the growing industrial demand for 24/7 green heat and power.

4. Many of our readers run heavy industries (steel, cement, textile, chemicals). What specific industrial use cases have you validated — e.g., process heat substitution, peaking power, fuel displacement — and can you share measured KPIs (hours of dispatch, % diesel/fossil offset, payback timelines) from live projects or PoCs?

We are addressing use cases across industries such as steel, textiles, and food processing etc. where high-temperature, round-the-clock heat is a critical cost driver. Our thermal energy storage delivers 24/7 green process heat and power, enabling direct substitution of fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas. The system consistently achieves extended hours of dispatch, with a clear path to multi-week storage. Customers can expect up to 30% savings in energy costs depending on energy capacity and tariffs. These results demonstrate that TES is not just a green solution, but also a commercially compelling one for heavy industry.

5. How does Voltanova approach hybridisation with renewables and BESS (electrochemical) systems — are you targeting tandem deployments (solar + thermal ESS) and how does your control/EMS strategy manage charge sources, round-trip efficiency tradeoffs and dispatch optimization?

Voltanova’s thermal battery is designed to operate seamlessly alongside renewables. In a solar and Thermal Energy Storage setup, our system captures excess daytime generation and dispatches high-temperature heat or electricity on demand. Our EMS architecture intelligently manages multiple charge sources, optimizing for cost, round-trip efficiency, and dispatch requirements. It can dynamically allocate between solar, grid, and storage, ensuring the thermal energy storage operates at peak efficiency while maximizing overall system value. The result is a hybrid solution that balances flexibility, duration, and economics, unlocking true 24/7 renewable energy for industry.

6. Policy & market design shape deployment speed. Which regulatory or incentive changes (at central or state level) would most accelerate adoption of thermal ESS for industry in India, and what kind of procurement structures or offtake contracts would make your solution most attractive to both utilities and industrials?

Policy plays a key role in deployment speed, but Voltanova’s solution is already highly competitive on cost. We benefit most from technology-agnostic frameworks that recognize thermal energy storage as a dispatchable and reliable resource. On the procurement side, offtake structures such as long-term energy contracts etc. make our solution highly attractive to both utilities and industrial customers. By integrating our thermal energy storage, customers achieve significant energy cost savings while unlocking 24/7 renewable energy and operational flexibility.