Rondo Energy has commenced commercial operations of the world’s largest industrial heat battery — a 100 MWh Rondo Heat Battery (RHB) — now running at full capacity at a Holmes Western Oil Corporation facility in California. Powered entirely by an on-site solar PV array, the system delivers continuous high-pressure industrial heat and steam, setting new benchmarks in capacity, round-trip efficiency, and power output for thermal energy storage. The 100 MWh RHB provides an amount of heat equivalent to that used by 10,000 households.

Operating independently from the grid, the system charges from solar energy during the day and supplies heat around the clock. After 10 weeks of operation, it has met all performance, efficiency, and reliability milestones, validating Rondo’s high-temperature (>1000°C) thermal storage technology with a round-trip efficiency exceeding 97%.

The Rondo Heat Battery is now proven at industrial scale,” said Eric Trusiewicz, CEO of Rondo Energy. “We are already developing and operating heat batteries across four continents and five industries. Our customers are improving their competitiveness and slashing their carbon emissions at the same time.”