Heliogen

Heliogen is a next-generation power company that uses an array of computer-controlled mirrors (heliostats) to collect and concentrate sunlight to produce ultra-high temperatures of around 1,000 °C for its “Sunlight Refineries” that generate heat, electricity, and green hydrogen.

Applications of the company’s technology include 1) “HelioHeat,” which uses the company’s solar concentration technology in heat-intensive industrial applications such as cement, lime, and steel production to reduce the use of fossil fuels; 2) “HelioPower,” which combines the solar concentration technology with supercritical carbon dioxide turbines to generate electricity to power industrial facilities, data centers, and mining operations; 3) “HelioFuel,” which uses the solar concentration technology to produce renewable hydrogen. 

In February 2022, the company announced plans to deploy a facility in Arizona that would produce 20,000 tons of hydrogen per year. Later that year, Heliogen opened its first full-scale manufacturing facility located in Long Beach, California, which houses assembly lines, a test facility, and a rapid development center for the production of heliostats and other components for its concentrated solar power system. 

Key customers and partnerships

In December 2021, Heliogen collaborated with CarbonCapture Inc. to develop sustainably-powered direct air capture (DAC) facilities. It also partnered with Woodside Energy, an Australian energy company, for the Capella Project, a 5 MW commercial concentrating solar power plant to be built by Heliogen in Kern County, California, with groundbreaking scheduled for 2024. In addition, Heliogen partnered with Bloom Energy to launch a green hydrogen production demonstration facility in California. In August 2022, the company partnered with Dimensional Energy to produce SAF from concentrated sunlight and green hydrogen.

In July 2023, Heliogen signed an agreement to supply the city of Lancaster with green hydrogen from its local Proxima plant. Around the same time, the company partnered with NantGPower to develop a pilot solar calcination facility at Proxima to reduce carbon emissions from cement production and lithium extraction. In January 2024, Heliogen announced a joint development agreement with Omanor to build a facility in Mexico to harness the country’s solar potential. 

Funding and financials

In October 2022, Heliogen was awarded USD 4.1 million by the US Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office, to fund a demonstration project to reduce carbon emissions from cement production. In May 2022, the company received USD 50 million in funding from Woodside Energy, and a previously announced USD 39 million grant from the US Department of Energy (DOE), to deploy a solar demonstration facility. 

In December 2021, Heliogen was listed on the NYSE through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger. The company received USD 188 million from the transaction and expects to use the proceeds to scale heliostat manufacturing and R&D activities. In November 2023, the NYSE suspended trading of Heliogen's shares and initiated delisting proceedings.

Key competitors: None comparable (uses solar concentration technology to produce renewable hydrogen)