US-based refrigeration technology developer Axiom Energy raised $7.6m on Wednesday in a series A round co-led by oil and gas supplier Shell and energy utility Great Plains Energy.
The corporates participated through respective subsidiaries Shell Ventures and GXP Investments, and were joined by WorldQuant Ventures, SV Tech Ventures and Meson Capital.
Axiom Energy has developed technology that cools fridges in supermarkets and cold storage facilities at a reduced cost. The Refrigeration Battery works by freezing tanks of salt water at night, when electricity costs are lower, and discharging the cold air throughout the day.
The company expects each battery to last for up to 30 years. The technology has been installed by retailers Whole Foods and Walmart, and the money will allow Axiom to scale its offering to large, multi-site rollouts and add additional features to the platform.
Axiom has raised $12.5m to date, the company said. It secured $2.5m in 2016 from Element 8 Fund, Victory Capital, MIT Angels, Sierra Angels, assorted private investors and undisclosed additional backers.
Stanford University’s Stanford-StartX Fund and Seabed VC were identified by Axiom as earlier investors when it disclosed the series A funding, but details about their contributions could not be confirmed.
Vikas Gupta, venture principal at Shell Ventures, said: “Axiom’s Refrigeration Battery platform transforms large, inflexible refrigeration systems into intelligent, flexible, long-duration batteries.
“This could position Axiom as the energy industry’s gateway to the cold chain. We are excited to be supporting a unique power management platform designed for refrigerated facilities.”
– Image courtesy of Axiom Energy. The original version of this article appeared on our sister site, Global University Venturing.