Chevron taps ‘coal city’ start-up MGA Thermal for renewable energy project

Energy giant Chevron will use renewable energy blocks from Newcastle start-up MGA Thermal to power a five megawatt per hour unit to store and process heat in the US.

MGA Thermal chief scientist Erich Kisi and chief executive Mark Croudace with the company’s renewable energy blocks.

Chevron has done a deal with a renewable energy unit developed by a Newcastle start-up.

The US energy giant will use MGA Thermal’s renewable energy blocks to power a five megawatt hour unit to store and process heat in the US.

Chevron is the small start-up’s first major customer.

The trial is part of a larger bid to decarbonise Chevron’s entire manufacturing lines.

MGA Thermal’s technology can extract energy from thermal blocks that are capable of producing steam at up to 600C.

The Chevron deal follows a $5.7m capital raising extension in April, forming part of a $14m pre-series B raising.

The start-up is seeking tens of millions of dollars for that round as it begins its next raising in 2025.

Chief executive Mark Croudace said the start-up had shifted its focus to manufacturers that produced furniture, processed minerals and produced food and beverages, many of whom were beginning to trial greener technologies.

MGA Thermal's renewable energy blocks.

“Our target market is Fortune-rated companies.

“This is a really good example of the sort of organisation we’re after.

“The thing about the feed study that we’ve done with Chevron is that it was a perfect example of us proving out that the business model can work,” Mr Croudace said.

The demonstration unit being set up for Chevron consists of close to 4000 blocks which will be heated while having steam extracted to provide 24/7 power for Chevron’s manufacturing processes.

Mr Croudace said the unit offered a cost-effective alternative to batteries and could be scaled up, depending on the demands of the manufacturer.

“Collaborating with Chevron represents a big milestone for MGA Thermal and advances our mission to decarbonise industrial heat on a global scale,” he said.

Industry’s consumption of energy is about 400 to 500 per cent larger than residential consumption and many companies are becoming more proactive about finding greener solutions.

MGA Thermal CTO Alex Post.

MGA Thermal would not ­disclose the specifics of the Chevron deal, but Mr Croudace said a 5MWh unit would typically cost around $3m to deliver, with ­additional costs for design work.

Chevron’s facilities operations manager Luc Huyse said: “Our collaboration with MGA Thermal is just one example of the forward-thinking required to deliver on our strategy to reduce the carbon intensity of our operations and advance new solutions for major industries.

“We look forward to the insights this study provides as we continue our journey towards a lower-carbon future,” Mr Huyse said

MGA Thermal was seeking to increase its energy units by 10 times in size over the next 12 months, looking to reach 50MWh units that produce the same amount of energy as 50 Teslas or 3700 Tesla Power Walls.

Originally published as Chevron taps ‘coal city’ start-up MGA Thermal for renewable energy project