A California company dedicated to solving the intermittency issue in distributed solar power generation announced this week that it raised $11.5 million from investors, which will help get its technology to market.

Terrajoule pairs solar concentrator technology with reciprocating steam piston engines to provide a reliable source of clean and renewable energy 24 hours a day, seven days a week - without relying on fossil fuels or batteries. Terrajoule says its intermittency solution provides energy storage at a fifth of what current battery technology costs.

Terrajoule's technology, already being demonstrated in northern California, provides an affordable and scalable solution to the biggest obstacle in the way of massive solar energy proliferation – darkness at night. The company claims it can presently manufacture systems of 100 kilowatts to 20 megawatts.

“The system components are all established technologies built within existing automotive and industrial supply chains worldwide,” according to Terrajoule's website. “Ramping up production requires no new factories, no new materials, and no new manufacturing equipment or processes.”

Ramping up production is on Terrajoule’s agenda.

The company, founded in 2009, announced this week that it recently raised $11.5 million from venture capital firms New Enterprise Associates and Air Liquide Investments And Demonstration, along with several other investors.

The funding will enable Terrajoule to scale up and market its now demonstrated project.

“In addition to the core technology, we really like Terrajoule’s approach to the market,” said Forest Baskett, NEA General Partner.  “By working through channel partners in industrial, agricultural and other sectors, the company can scale to play a major role in worldwide energy markets without the massive capital requirements that have posed significant challenges to other new energy technologies.”

The technology is well suited to industrial use, especially for businesses that would typically rely on generators or other uninterruptable power supplies. It could also present utility-scale solutions.

“Developing a game-changing energy storage solution is about more than technology,” stated Steve Bisset, Terrajoule Co-Founder and CEO. “We’ve focused on building the right value proposition, market channels, and capital partners to build a business with global reach and scale without depending on government subsidies. we are excited bring the Terrajoule innovation in energy storage to key global markets.”