EnStorage raises $2m from Greylock, Canaan and Siemens Venture Capital

Sources inform ''Globes'' that Israeli cleantech start-up EnStorage Ltd. has completed a $2 million financing round from Greylock Partners, Canaan Partners of the US, and Siemens TTB This is Greylock and Canaan Partners' first investment in an Israeli cleantech company.

EnStorage CEO Eran Yarkoni, CTO Prof. Emanuel Peled, and VP R&D Dr. Arnon Blum founded the company a year ago. The company is based on Peled's research and is operating in stealth mode.

According to IVC Online, EnStorage is developing a low-cost regenerative fuel cell energy-storage-system (ESS) for power grid load leveling and for capacity firming of solar and wind power generation plants. The company claims that its ESS is smaller, more efficient and lower-cost than other energy storage systems.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, regenerative fuel cells produce electricity from hydrogen and oxygen and generate heat and water as byproducts, just like other fuel cells. However, regenerative fuel cell systems can also use electricity from solar power or some other source to divide the excess water into oxygen and hydrogen fuel—this process is called "electrolysis." This is a comparatively young fuel cell technology being developed by NASA and others.