Airthium is developing technology aimed at an overlooked source of carbon emissions: industrial heat.
Nearly every manufactured product requires heat at some stage of production. Food processing, chemicals, mining, paper, cement — countless industries rely on furnaces, boilers, and burners powered primarily by fossil fuels.
Airthium's goal is to replace those fossil-fuel systems with high-temperature electric heat pumps that can deliver industrial heat more efficiently and at a lower cost.
The company participated in the prestigious Y Combinator accelerator and has raised more than $6.5 million from professional investors including DCVC, Daphni, and Polytechnique Ventures. It’s also secured a $4 million award from France's ecological-transition agency through the France 2030 initiative.
At the center of Airthium's business is a proprietary heat engine based on a Stirling-engine design. That may sound complicated, but the concept is fairly simple.
The company's technology uses electricity to generate industrial heat at temperatures of more than 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Unlike conventional electric heating systems, Airthium's engine functions as a high-temperature heat pump, meaning it moves and concentrates heat rather than creating it from scratch. As a result, it can produce multiple units of heat for every unit of electricity consumed.
This approach addresses a major problem facing manufacturers. Many industrial facilities want to reduce emissions, but replacing natural-gas equipment can be expensive and disruptive. Airthium's proposed systems are designed to work alongside existing equipment, enabling companies to use electricity when it is economical while retaining gas systems as backup when needed. The company believes this hybrid approach can reduce energy costs while also lowering carbon emissions.
Longer term, Airthium sees an even bigger opportunity in energy storage.
Wind and solar power generate electricity intermittently, creating a need for ways to store energy when production exceeds demand. Airthium's engine can operate in reverse, converting electricity into stored heat and later converting that heat back into electricity. The company envisions systems that use molten salts, sand, and even ammonia-based storage to hold energy for weeks or months at a time. This could help renewable-energy operators provide reliable power even during extended periods of low wind or sunlight.
The markets Airthium is targeting are enormous. The industrial-heat market is valued at roughly $13 billion annually. Longer term, management believes seasonal and long-duration energy storage could represent a $125 billion annual opportunity. The broader global industrial process-heat market is worth approximately $1.2 trillion per year.
Airthium plans to sell its industrial heat-pump systems directly to manufacturers and industrial facilities. Customers would purchase the equipment to reduce energy costs and emissions. Over time, Airthium could also generate revenue through engineering services, system installations, maintenance contracts, and future energy-storage deployments.
Airthium has developed and tested multiple prototypes of its heat-engine technology and continues to advance toward larger-scale industrial systems. The company has two patents granted or pending, a team composed largely of engineers and PhDs, and a letter of intent with a large chemical manufacturer for a paid pilot project expected to begin in 2028.
Airthium has a pilot partnership with food-giant McCain Foods to demonstrate the technology in an industrial setting.