GlassPoint, a provider of solar industrial process heat, announced it has closed a $20 million funding round led by N.I.S. New Investment Solutions, a Liechtenstein-based asset manager, with participation from returning investor MIG Capital. The company said the financing will support global expansion and advance large-scale deployments in its pipeline, with a near-term focus on projects in the U.S. Southwest, Southern Europe, the Middle East, and South America.
The company positioned the raise around the scale of the industrial heat decarbonization challenge, citing International Energy Agency data that industrial process heat accounts for 26% of global energy use, exceeding electricity’s 20% share. GlassPoint said industrial heat remains difficult to decarbonize because fossil fuels often remain the lowest-cost option, and it argued that its solar thermal approach can offer better economics than either burning fuels or electrifying heat in regions with strong solar resources.
GlassPoint said the funding follows progress on multiple megaprojects, including a partnership with Searles Valley Minerals in California to deploy 750 MWth of its solar technology as the company begins decommissioning what it described as the last two coal-fired plants in the state. It also highlighted ongoing work on a 1.5 GWth project with Ma’aden to decarbonize a bauxite refinery in Saudi Arabia, and referenced a 330 MWth installation in Oman that it said has been providing steam daily since 2017.
To support expansion, GlassPoint said it is growing its Technology Center in Stuttgart, Germany, and hiring across business development, engineering, and finance roles in Dubai and the United States. The company also emphasized its “Enclosed Trough” solar thermal system, which it said converts nearly 70% of available solar energy into industrial heat delivered to customers, and its “Unify Storage System,” which it said stores heat during the day and releases it at night to enable continuous thermal supply.
GlassPoint described itself as the leader in solar industrial process heat, stating that its technology powers 60% of the world’s solar industrial steam capacity, and said its model includes building, owning, and operating large-scale solar steam facilities for hard-to-abate sectors such as mining and metals, chemicals, construction materials, oil and gas, and desalination.
KEY QUOTES:
“In many parts of the world, solar energy is now the lowest cost source of industrial power, creating an opportunity to simultaneously reduce operating costs and emissions. GlassPoint is a proven solution for this moment and has already won the confidence of some of the most discerning industrial organizations in the world, from oil and gas leaders to mining titans.”
Takashi Sato, Founder of N.I.S.
“GlassPoint provides industry leaders with a proven solution to deliver industrial process heat at the lowest cost. With this latest round of financing, we will expand into several new global markets where GlassPoint’s technology delivers compelling value. We look forward to helping leaders across mining, oil & gas, and building materials achieve a significant cost advantage against their competitors.”
Rod MacGregor, Chief Executive Officer at GlassPoint
