MIT Spinoff Company Says Its Electrically Conductive Bricks Can Replace Fossil Fuels Used in Industrial Processes
24th August 2025
Inside a cinder-block office building perhaps best known for the Hindu temple and table tennis club next door, a startup company is testing what may be one of the hottest new developments in clean-energy technology. Literally.
At the back of a small warehouse laboratory buzzing with fans and motors, an MIT spinoff company, Electrified Thermal Solutions, is operating something they call the Joule Hive, a thermal battery the size of an elevator.
The Hive is a large, insulated metal box loaded with dozens of white-hot ceramic bricks that convert electricity to heat at temperatures up to 1,800 degrees Celsius — well beyond the melting point of steel.