Voya Energy Unveils a New Metal Fuels Energy System, Closes $35 Million Series A

HAYWARD, Calif. — AUGUST 26, 2026 — Voya Energy today unveiled a new energy system that combines a proprietary aluminum-based metal fuel with a purpose-built generator that converts the fuel directly into electricity through an electrochemical process. The integrated system requires no combustion, produces no air emissions at the point of use and can operate independently of the utility grid.

Voya also announced the close of a $35 million Series A financing to advance the system toward commercial deployment. The round was led by EIP, with participation from John Doerr, Mantis VC, StepStone, Founders Fund, Overmatch, Seven Stars, and other institutional investors. 

Voya is developing the system for customers whose growth is increasingly constrained by access to reliable power. Data center developers, industrial operators and other large energy users often face unreliable grid connections and limited local capacity, as well as permitting challenges and growing community opposition to conventional onsite generation because of noise and local air pollution.

Voya’s system is designed to give these customers a new way to bring reliable, firm power directly to a site—without waiting for new transmission infrastructure, natural gas pipelines or additional grid capacity. While data centers represent an urgent initial market, the same platform is designed for commercial and industrial facilities, utilities and infrastructure providers, government and defense operations, and remote or off-grid sites where dependable power is constrained by grid access, permitting or fuel logistics.

“Electricity demand is rising faster than the grid can expand, and businesses cannot afford to wait years for the power they need,” said Richard Wang, co-founder and CEO of Voya Energy. “Voya is developing an entirely new solution: generators powered by aluminum-based fuel that can deliver clean, quiet, and dependable electricity wherever it is needed. This financing gives us the resources to turn that vision into a commercially deployable product.”

“America needs dramatically more electricity to power our industries, strengthen our communities, and support continued economic growth,” said John Doerr, Founder at Doerr Capital and Chair at Kleiner Perkins. “Meeting that demand requires new technologies that can deliver clean, firm power at speed and scale. Voya is taking a bold approach to that challenge, turning abundant aluminum into a practical source of 24/7 power wherever it is needed”.

For data centers, the benefits extend beyond access to power. Community opposition has become a major constraint on U.S. data center development:  According to Data Center Watch, at least 75 projects representing approximately $130 billion in planned investment were delayed or canceled amid organized local resistance in the first quarter of 2026 alone. Concerns increasingly include the noise and local air pollution associated with conventional diesel and natural gas generation. Voya’s generators produce electricity without combustion, generate no local air emissions and are designed for ultra-silent operation, helping reduce permitting barriers and enabling data centers to bring new capacity online with less impact on surrounding communities.

At scale, fleets of Voya generators can also be used as valuable distributed grid resources. Because the systems can operate when and where power is most constrained, data centers and other large customers can use them to reduce demand during peak periods, provide capacity during grid emergencies and support local reliability. This creates the potential for new generation capacity to be financed and hosted by large energy users while also reducing ratepayer utility bills for community residents. 

Voya is focused on displacing diesel generators as the technology of choice for on-site critical power. Voya’s generators outcompete diesel in all key respects: 

• 4x more compact site footprint at scale
• Zero emissions (no NOx, PM2.5, CO2, etc.) and exempt from air quality permits or runtime restrictions
• Instantly dispatchable for emergency, demand response, and grid service programs
• Ultra-silent operation by design, with no combustion
• Non-flammable fuel and generator with excellent fire safety
• Battery-like inverter-grade power quality

A complete energy system built around aluminum

Voya develops both the fuel and the generator that uses it. Its proprietary fuel is produced from low-grade scrap aluminum and formed into pellets engineered for storage, transportation and use in Voya’s generation system. Inside the generator, the fuel reacts with air and water to produce electricity directly through a low-temperature, electrochemical process enabled by Voya’s proprietary electrolyte and metal-air cell technology. 

The process produces aluminum trihydrate (ATH) as a stable and inert byproduct. Initially, Voya will supply its ATH for use as a common industrial feedstock. Longer-term, Voya will build a closed-loop fuel system which harnesses stranded energy resources around the world to recycle ATH back into fuel-grade aluminum.

The system is modular and designed around familiar shipping and logistics infrastructure. Generator, fuel and byproduct can be transported in standardized container formats, enabling energy to be delivered to grid-constrained, remote or temporary locations without pipelines or hazardous materials transport.

Voya’s current industrial-scale design is expected to deliver up to two megawatts of electricity from a generator housed in a standard 20-foot container, paired with a separate 10-foot fuel container capable of holding approximately 100 megawatt-hours of stored energy. 

At scale, the system is designed to provide approximately 100 megawatts of generation capacity and 10 gigawatt-hours of stored energy per acre–about four times more compact than diesel generator fleets and 100 times more compact than grid-scale battery installations.  Current technology validation indicates conversion efficiency of approximately 57 percent, compared with approximately 35 percent for a conventional diesel generator.

From data centers to a new global energy system

Voya believes metal fuels can form the foundation of a new global energy system. They offer a new way to store, transport and deliver energy—combining high energy density, long-duration stability and compatibility with established global supply chains.

By pairing aluminum-based metal fuel with a practical, deployable generation platform, Voya aims to expand where and how reliable electricity can be delivered. Over time, metal fuels could power remote and critical operations, strengthen energy security by reducing dependence on volatile oil and gas supply chains, and replace fossil fuels in difficult-to-electrify forms of long-haul transportation, including marine vessels and freight rail.

“Voya was founded on the belief that the fuels powering the next century will look fundamentally different from those that powered the last,” Wang said. “Our long-term opportunity is not simply to build another generator. It is to establish metal fuels as an entirely new energy category—one that can deliver dependable electricity across industries and applications anywhere on Earth.”

Nearly a dozen companies across industrial manufacturing, data centers, heavy transportation, utilities, real estate, emergency response and energy infrastructure are partnering with Voya Energy on near-term pilot demonstrations. Together, they are evaluating high-value applications for the technology and helping shape the system for its first commercial deployments.

“Voya is pursuing one of the most ambitious and consequential ideas in energy: transforming an abundant, globally traded metal into a practical fuel for reliable power,” said Shayle Kann, Managing Partner at EIP. “The team has made remarkable progress turning that vision into a commercial reality, and we are thrilled to continue supporting the company as it moves toward deployment.”

The new financing will support continued technology development, initial product deployments in 2027, and manufacturing scale-up in 2028. Voya’s platform is also expected to qualify for the federal clean electricity investment tax credit available to eligible fuel-cell systems under Section 48E.

Voya Energy was founded in 2025 by Richard Wang, Matt Horton and Steven Kaye, who bring experience spanning electrochemistry, materials science, energy storage and the commercialization of capital-intensive energy technologies. Wang previously founded Cuberg, an advanced battery technology startup which was acquired by Northvolt. Horton previously led Voltera, where he helped secure approximately $800 million to develop charging infrastructure for commercial electric-vehicle fleets. Kaye has held senior technical roles across advanced battery and materials companies and holds more than 60 patents.

Voya previously raised a $13 million seed round in July 2025.

About Voya Energy

Voya Energy is pioneering a new energy system built on metal fuels—an abundant, energy-dense and recyclable class of materials capable of storing and delivering energy. Voya pairs its proprietary aluminum fuel with a purpose-built electrochemical generator to provide reliable, clean and dispatchable electricity without combustion or dependence on the utility grid.

Founded in 2025 and headquartered in Hayward, California, Voya is backed by Energy Impact Partners, John Doerr, Founders Fund, Mantis VC, Overmatch, Seven Stars, StepStone, and other leading investors. Learn more at voya.energy.

Media Contact

Evelyne McCleland, VP Marketing & Communications, Voya Energy

media@voya.energy

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