Heliogen

Heliogen is an AI-powered concentrated solar energy (CSP) company headquartered in Pasadena, California, founded out of Idealab - the renowned technology incubator created by serial entrepreneur Bill Gross. The company's core technology uses large fields of AI-controlled heliostats (mirrors) to precisely track and concentrate sunlight onto a central receiver, generating ultra-high temperatures capable of producing industrial-grade heat, steam, electricity, or green hydrogen fuel. Uniquely, Heliogen pairs its concentrated solar systems with long-duration molten salt thermal energy storage, enabling dispatchable, near 24/7 carbon-free energy even when the sun isn't shining - a critical advantage over conventional solar photovoltaics. The company also offers hybrid CSP+PV systems and professional services including technoeconomic analysis, industrial heat system design, and technical project management.

Heliogen targets some of the most carbon-intensive industrial sectors - mining and mineral processing, chemicals, metals manufacturing, oil and gas, food and beverage, and transportation - all of which rely heavily on high-temperature heat that has traditionally been difficult to decarbonize. By replacing fossil fuel-fired boilers and furnaces with concentrated solar thermal systems, Heliogen directly attacks hard-to-abate emissions in the industrial heat sector, which accounts for roughly 20% of global energy demand. The company has forged strategic partnerships with Woodside Energy (Australia), Dimensional Energy (sustainable aviation fuel), and Bloom Energy (solar-powered hydrogen via electrolysis), and received a U.S. Department of Energy grant to advance its demonstration projects, including the Capella project, concluded in January 2025.

Heliogen went public via a SPAC merger (NYSE: HLGN) in 2021, raising significant capital to scale its technology. However, amid challenging capital markets for clean energy SPACs, the company underwent financial restructuring and in May 2025 announced it would be acquired by Zeo Energy Corp., with the combined entity expected to form a broader clean energy platform serving residential, commercial, and utility markets. Despite this turbulent public-market journey, Heliogen's core technology - AI-driven heliostat control, modular CSP design, and thermal energy storage integration - remains a potentially transformative contribution to the U.S. industrial decarbonization and domestic clean energy supply chain, reducing reliance on fossil fuels for industrial process heat at scale.