Ore Energy

Ore Energy is a climate technology company that develops and manufactures low-cost, long-duration iron-air batteries to support the transition to a fully renewable energy grid. Officially launched in 2023 as a spin-out from the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), the company was founded by Dr. Ir. Aytaç Yilmaz, who serves as CEO. The technology is the result of eight years of research and development at TU Delft by the co-founders.

Ore Energy's core product is a multi-day energy storage system based on iron-air battery technology. This technology utilizes the process of reversible rusting, or the oxidation and reduction of iron, to store and discharge electricity. The battery charges by using electricity to convert iron oxide (rust) into metallic iron and discharges by reacting the iron with air to form rust again, releasing energy. This process uses abundant and globally available materials—iron, water, and air—which makes the batteries significantly cheaper, safer, and more scalable than conventional lithium-ion batteries. Unlike lithium-ion systems, which typically provide 4 to 8 hours of storage, Ore Energy's batteries are designed for long-duration storage of up to 100 hours.

The company targets large-scale applications, serving clients such as energy companies and grid operators who need to balance the intermittency of renewable sources like wind and solar. By providing multi-day storage, the system helps reduce renewable energy curtailment, lessens the reliance on fossil-fuel peaker plants for grid stability, and can lower the need for expensive grid upgrades. Ore Energy's business model involves deploying these batteries in modular, 40-foot containers, each with a capacity of up to 4.2 MWh, allowing for scalable solutions from megawatt-hours to gigawatt-hours. In May 2024, the company announced it had raised €10 million in a seed funding round from investors including Positron Ventures and SPRIND. By July 2025, it had successfully connected the world's first grid-connected iron-air battery system at The Green Village, a testing site at TU Delft. This pilot system, the first long-duration energy storage solution wholly designed and built in the EU, is a key step towards commercial deployment.

Keywords: Long-duration energy storage, iron-air battery, grid stability, renewable energy integration, TU Delft spin-out, multi-day storage, Aytaç Yilmaz, energy grid decarbonization, reversible rusting, low-cost battery, utility-scale storage, European supply chain, electricity grid, energy transition, clean energy technology, modular energy storage, grid-connected battery, Positron Ventures, The Green Village, load shifting, fossil fuel replacement.