H&M Group invests in Rondo Energy to further strengthen their climate strategy

The global fashion retailer H&M Group is investing in Rondo and joining Rondo's Strategic Investor Advisory Board to explore the potential for heat storage technologies to help decarbonize the textile supply chain.

ALAMEDA, Calif., June 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Fashion company H&M Group is partnering with Rondo Energy, the leading provider of zero-carbon industrial heat and power, to explore the potential for heat storage technologies in its supply chain. The fashion company is also making an investment in Rondo and joining Rondo's Strategic Investor Advisory Board (SIAB). The new collaboration will help Rondo deliver clean, affordable heat powering textile factories around the world.

Rondo Heat Batteries combine century-old materials and cutting-edge automation to turn intermittent renewable electricity into the continuous, high-temperature heat and power required by industries including textile producers. H&M Group and Rondo will explore opportunities for factories in the group's global supply chain to replace fossil fuels with clean heat and power delivered by Rondo Heat Batteries. Rondo will use H&M Group Ventures' investment to expand its international operations and to develop and build storage projects serving this need.

Rondo Heat Batteries deliver deep decarbonization by changing the fuel, not the factory. As a member of Rondo's advisory board, H&M Group will join other global leaders seeking large-scale, low-cost, zero-carbon energy to power their operations, including Rio Tinto, Aramco Ventures, SABIC, SCG, TITAN, and SEEIT.

"Producing and finishing fabrics requires large amounts of low-cost energy, which makes our brick batteries a perfect fit," said John O'Donnell, Founder & Chief Innovation Officer of Rondo Energy. "Today, coal delivers most of the heat and most of the carbon pollution making fabrics, because it's always been cheap and simple to burn. But the world is changing. Region by region around the world, wind and solar power are becoming cheaper than fossil fuels. At Rondo, we've created a simple, practical tool to harness those new energy sources."

"Rondo is thrilled to be working in partnership with H&M Group to explore how our technology can be of use in their supply chain, and to have H&M as an investor and member of our Strategic Investor Advisory Board," said Eric Trusiewicz, CEO of Rondo Energy.

The fashion industry has been called "hard to decarbonize," due to the structure of the industry and its needs for low-cost energy. Today, making what we wear releases some 5% of global greenhouse gases, and emissions are rising every year. Rondo Heat Batteries replace most fossil fuel use in fabric production, and could cut the carbon footprint of our clothing by nearly two-thirds.

H&M Group has been investing steadily in decarbonizing its supply chain through several initiatives to support suppliers reducing their use of energy, increasing their use of renewable electricity and replacing fossil fuels. Now H&M Group's investment arm, H&M Group Ventures, is taking the next step with Rondo. 

"Rondo is H&M Group Venture's first investment in decarbonisation technology. The company's thermal battery energy storage has the potential to help factories electrify, which is key to achieving our climate targets. We look forward to working closely with Rondo and the broader ecosystem in scaling decarb tech," said Laura Coppen, Sustainability Investments at H&M Group Ventures.

Southeast Asia is a center of the world textile industry, where companies like H&M Group are seeking to further create positive impact for people, the planet and economies.  Rondo is well suited to serve H&M Group's work in this region, with a growing presence and experience base in the region today. In May, Rondo and SCG Cleanergy announced Southeast Asia's first heat battery, and the world's first heat battery powering a cement plant. Rondo and SCG have established large-scale production capacity in Thailand, and announced plans to scale production capacity to 90GWh/year.

About Rondo Energy

Rondo Energy enables industrial decarbonization—both feasible and profitable—today. The Rondo Heat Battery harnesses low-cost renewable electricity and delivers the world's highest temperature, highest efficiency energy storage of any kind, empowering customers to operate with zero-carbon energy.

In March 2023, Rondo started the first commercially operating electric thermal energy storage system in the U.S., with the highest efficiency and temperature energy storage worldwide.

Learn more at rondo.com.

About H&M Group

H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB (publ) was founded in Sweden in 1947 and is quoted on Nasdaq Stockholm. H&M's business idea is to offer fashion and quality at the best price in a sustainable way. In addition to H&M, the group includes the brands COS, Monki, Weekday, & Other Stories, H&M HOME, ARKET, Afound and Sellpy. H&M Group's investment arm H&M Group Ventures makes long-term investments in entrepreneur-led companies working with solutions for a circular and more sustainable fashion industry. Learn more at hmgroup.com and hmgroupventures.com