Helena Announces Strategic Partnership With Energy Vault
20.7.2021 15:00:00 EEST | Business Wire | Press release
Global problem-solving organization Helena and Energy Vault, the creator of renewable energy storage products that are transforming the world’s approach to utility-scale energy storage for grid resiliency, today announced a strategic partnership to identify additional opportunities for Energy Vault’s breakthrough waste remediation technologies as the company begins deployment of its innovative energy storage system worldwide.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210720005330/en/
Energy Vault Commercial Demonstration Unit - Arbedo-Castione, Switzerland. (Photo: Business Wire)
While supporting Energy Vault’s expansion through Helena’s vast network, the strategic partnership will focus on accelerating adoption by global energy providers of the company’s transformative technology, in particular its advanced material remediation innovations. The unique application of material science to the main energy storage medium – the composite blocks – enables the use of alternative materials to replace environmentally unfriendly substances like concrete, which accounts for 7-8% of greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, the technology can accommodate the recycling of various pre-existing waste materials, which in return helps large utility and industrial companies transform financial and environmental liabilities into infrastructure assets to support their transition to a fully circular economic approach. For example, coal ash waste and retired wind turbine blades can be re-directed from landfills into its custom-made composite blocks that anchor the company’s gravity-powered systems. By maximizing the use of locally sourced soil, sand and waste materials, including outputs from fossil fuel production, Energy Vault’s supply chain design reduces the impact of GHGs from the transport sector while increasing jobs for local economies, the end result being an end-of-life solution for materials that are difficult to break down and can have negative environmental consequences. This beneficial reuse eliminates waste and enables the continual use of local resources within the framework of a circular economy.
This work will build upon the technology and commercial partnership that it previously announced in 2019 with CEMEX Research Group, a subsidiary of global building materials company CEMEX, and supports the collaboration Energy Vault most recently announced earlier this month with leading global energy powerhouse Enel Green Power.
As part of the partnership, which began in late 2020, Helena also announced that it completed a $20 million investment in Energy Vault. Helena’s investment and partnership with Energy Vault is conducted through Helena’s for-profit arm, Helena Special Investments, which operates projects that implement solutions to societal problems through for-profit means. Helena has joined other investors including Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures, SoftBank Vision Fund, CEMEX Ventures, Idealab, and Neotribe Ventures. As part of its investment, Helena Founder and CEO Henry Elkus joined Energy Vault’s board of directors.
"Our job at Helena is to identify and implement solutions to the critical global problems of the next 50 years. It doesn’t get much more critical than radically improving energy storage. It is both a short-term solution to the problems we have seen recently in areas like Texas and a long-term necessity for the world to sustainably transition away from fossil fuels. We believe Energy Vault will play a fundamental role in furthering that transition,” said Helena Founder and CEO Henry Elkus. “We are also supporting Energy Vault’s strategy in addressing another essential problem – remediating waste. The company’s ability to use massive quantities of waste material to construct its systems only makes the impact more real and the business case more viable while also providing utilities a streamlined method to transition out of fossil fuel-based energy production and recycle legacy assets.”
“We are thrilled to partner with Helena in pursuit of our shared mission and mutual passion in accelerating the decarbonization of our planet,” said Robert Piconi, CEO and Co-Founder, Energy Vault. “Given Helena’s focus in taking on the most significant global challenges – in this case the global transition to clean energy production – we are grateful to have them alongside us as both strategic partner and investor. Helena and its global network are already making an impact toward our technology adoption, and our continued work together will help the world to take a vital step towards combating the negative impacts of climate change.”
About Helena
Helena is a global problem-solving organization. Through Helena Projects, Helena seeks to implement solutions to critical societal problems. Since its founding in 2015, Helena Projects have included: America In One Room, which garnered the attention of President Barack Obama and The New York Times for one of the most significant political experiments in U.S. history; Factory in the Sky, which supported the development and construction of the world’s first carbon capture factory; Shield, which worked to protect the electrical grid from foreign and domestic threats; and most recently The Covid Project, which supplied tens of millions units of medical supplies and personal protective equipment to frontline responders during the COVID-19 pandemic. To learn more about Helena, visit helena.org.
About Energy Vault
Energy Vault is the creator of renewable energy storage products that are transforming the world’s approach to utility-scale energy storage for grid resiliency. Applying conventional physics fundamentals of gravity and potential energy, the system combines an innovative crane design that lifts specially designed, massive composite blocks with a proprietary, cloud-based software platform which orchestrates the storage and discharge of electricity. Utilizing 100% eco-friendly materials at unprecedented economics, Energy Vault is accelerating the shift to a fully renewable world.
For more information about Energy Vault, please visit energyvault.com and @EnergyVaultInc.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210720005330/en/
Contact information
Helena Media
Catherine Pope
1.855.438.3553
helena@ellecomm.com
Energy Vault Media
media@energyvault.com
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
TOURISE and Oxford Economics Release New Global Report on Tourism Resilience in an Era of Permanent Disruption17.8.2026 17:33:00 EEST | Press release
TOURISE, in collaboration with Oxford Economics, today released a new report, “Resilience in a World that Doesn’t Reset: Redesigning Tourism for an Era of Permanent Disruption.” The analysis of 85 major crises over two decades shows a clear pattern: in a world defined by continuous shocks, destinations that act before disruption hits recover up to 1.5 times faster than those that wait. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260817880835/en/ “In a world that does not reset between crises, disruption is a constant feature of the global tourism landscape,” said His Excellency Ahmed Al-Khateeb, Minister of Tourism of Saudi Arabia and Chairman of TOURISE. “The real test for destinations measures how they prepare for volatility, protect traveler confidence, and maintain continuity ahead of such events.” Using the current Middle East crisis as a lens, where Gulf hubs carry roughly 14 percent of global transit traffic, the r
The Expensify Visa® Commercial Card Brings New Proactive Spend Controls to 14 Countries17.8.2026 16:00:00 EEST | Press release
Expensify, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXFY), the easiest way to manage expenses, travel, and corporate cards, today expanded the reach of Expensify Card spend rules, the market-leading way for businesses to control corporate card spend before it happens. Available to businesses in 14 countries, spend rules let admins decide exactly how, where, and when each Expensify Card can be used, so only compliant transactions go through. Unlike traditional corporate cards that rely on after-the-fact expense review, the Expensify Card enforces policy at the point of purchase. Admins set the rules once, and the card handles the rest. With Expensify Card spend rules, admins can: Lock a card to a subscription. Give each recurring SaaS tool its own virtual card, so a vendor can only ever charge what it should. If the card owner changes teams or leaves, the subscription keeps running, with no swapping cards and no missed payments. Cover a one-time purchase. Issue a virtual card for a single transaction like event r
Riskified Analysis Finds Travel Fraudsters Are Adapting Faster Than Traditional Signals Can Keep Up, With May Flight Risk Up 32%17.8.2026 15:30:00 EEST | Press release
Riskified (NYSE: RSKD), a global leader in ecommerce fraud and risk intelligence, today released new findings from its Travel Industry Insights report, revealing how sophisticated fraud rings and AI-enabled fraudsters are evolving their tactics across airlines, hotels, and online travel platforms. Riskified’s analysis shows that fraudsters are increasingly adapting their behavior to resemble legitimate travelers, making traditional fraud indicators less reliable and creating new challenges for travel merchants. Riskified’s analysis of hundreds of millions of travel transactions across flights, hotels, and land transportation found that flight fraud risk increased through the first five months of 2026, with May 2026 marking the sharpest year-over-year increase at 32% compared to May 2025. The findings show that sophisticated fraud activity is not limited to predictable travel peaks, with organized fraud rings continuously adjusting their methods throughout the year. Riskified's travel n
PIF Delivers Strong Revenue and Profit Growth in 202517.8.2026 14:54:00 EEST | Press release
PIF today published its 2025 Annual Report demonstrating strong financial performance and continued progress against its long-term objectives. As a long-term investor with a unique mandate to drive the economic transformation of Saudi Arabia and deliver sustainable financial returns, PIF maintained a diversified portfolio in 2025, balancing returns with national impact and long-term resilience. Maintaining Financial Discipline In 2025, revenue rose 9% year on year to $120 billion, while net profit more than doubled to $17 billion, supported by stronger contributions from maturing portfolio companies. PIF retained over $900 billion in assets under management and achieved an annualized total shareholder return of 5.8% since 2017. Total shareholder return in 2025 was positively driven by increased dividends from portfolio companies and returns from financial investments. It was also impacted by downward movements in the valuations of some assets, as a result of wider market conditions, an
Foundever Successfully Closes a Holistic Recapitalization, Reducing its Debt by Nearly $900 Million and Strengthening its Financial Position for Long-Term Growth17.8.2026 14:30:00 EEST | Press release
Foundever Group S.A.® (“Foundever” or the “Company”) – a global leader in integrated customer experience, digital operations and analytics services, today announced that it has successfully closed a holistic recapitalization (the “Transaction”) in coordination with 95.4% of the lenders under its term loan facility (“Term Loan Lenders”), 100% of its revolving credit facility lenders (“RCF Lenders”), and the Company’s existing majority shareholders. The Transaction meaningfully strengthens Foundever’s financial foundation and positions the Company to invest in its growth strategy. Key terms of the Transaction include: Company's existing majority shareholders invest $225 million into common equity. Term loan facility exchange reduces the Company's total debt by nearly $900 million. Revolving credit facility maturity date is extended by more than four years to December 2030, and term loan maturity date is extended by more than 2.5 years to March 2031. Certain of the Company's RCF Lenders p
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom