Sunvapor
Sunvapor, Inc. is an early-stage Pasadena, California-based renewable energy company that develops concentrating solar-thermal power systems delivering industrial process heat and solar-powered desalination, sold as turnkey projects to industrial and oil & gas operators seeking to replace fossil fuel combustion.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersPasadena, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Sunvapor does
Sunvapor, Inc. is an early-stage renewable energy technology company headquartered at 145 N. Sierra Madre Blvd., Pasadena, California, that develops concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP) systems for industrial process heat and water treatment. The company was co-founded by Philip Gleckman, a former member of Google's original renewable energy research team who holds over thirty patents, and Sue Gleckman; engineering is led by Director Brandon Hathaway, formerly of the University of Minnesota Solar Energy Laboratory. The product portfolio comprises three core technologies — Solar Steam (industrial process heat ranging from below 400°C to over 1000°C), Desalination (solar-powered treatment of challenging wastewater streams including oilfield produced water), and Thermal Energy Storage (extending operation beyond daylight hours) — delivered as turnkey Engineering, Procurement, Construction Management, Commissioning, and Operations & Maintenance projects.
Sunvapor sells custom turnkey industrial projects on a project-by-project basis to enterprise and mid-market industrial buyers, with revenue generated through one-time project contracts plus recurring managed services from ongoing O&M engagements. The go-to-market motion is direct enterprise field sales, requiring engineering-led sales cycles targeting customers that require high-temperature heat or specialized water treatment. The publicly disclosed customer engagements include a partnership with Horizon Nut for solar-thermal nut processing and a co-deployment with Southeast New Mexico College of the country's first solar desalination facility in Carlsbad, New Mexico, treating Permian Basin oilfield wastewater.
The firm's primary value proposition is replacing fossil-fuel-based industrial process heat (which as of 2014 supplied roughly 90% of U.S. manufacturing process heat energy and accounts for approximately one-third of U.S. energy-related CO2 emissions) with renewable solar-thermal alternatives, alongside addressing oilfield produced water management in the energy sector. Operationally, Sunvapor operates with 1-10 employees and has raised $1,500,000 from the U.S. Department of Energy (July 2019); no subsequent institutional or venture capital funding is disclosed.
Sunvapor firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Sunvapor
- Legal name
- Sunvapor, Inc.
- Website
- https://sunvapor.net
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Sunvapor, Inc. is an early-stage Pasadena, California-based renewable energy company that develops concentrating solar-thermal power systems delivering industrial process heat and solar-powered desalination, sold as turnkey projects to industrial and oil & gas operators seeking to replace fossil fuel combustion.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Sunvapor industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Concentrating Solar-Thermal Industrial Systems
- NAICS
- Solar Electric Power Generation (221114)
- SIC
- Heating Equipment, Except Electric & Warm Air Furnaces (3433), Air-Cond & Warm Air Heatg Equip & Comm & Indl Refrig Equip (3585)
- akta.pro primary industry
- CSP Plant Development & EPC (Parabolic Trough, Tower, Linear Fresnel, Dish) (EUACAGAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- CSP Thermal Energy Storage & Heat Transfer Systems (Molten Salt, HTF, Receivers) (EUACAGAF), Solar Thermal & CSP Systems (Collectors, Receivers, Thermal Storage, CSP EPC) (EUAMABAL)
Keywords
Where Sunvapor is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Pasadena
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Sunvapor business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Turnkey Industrial Project Delivery: Sunvapor delivers custom industrial projects on an Engineering, Procurement, Construction Management, Commissioning, and Operations & Maintenance basis. Revenue is generated through project-based contracts for industrial solar-thermal installations and desalination plants.
- Operations & Maintenance Services: Ongoing operations and maintenance services for deployed Sunvapor installations, providing recurring service revenue after project completion.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels3 records
Sunvapor product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Sunvapor designs, builds, and operates concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP) systems that supply renewable process heat for industrial applications such as food processing, chemical production, and desalination, while also delivering solar-powered desalination plants and thermal energy storage. The company delivers these as custom turnkey projects encompassing engineering, procurement, construction management, commissioning, and ongoing operations & maintenance to enterprise customers.
Product overview
Sunvapor, Inc. is a renewable process heat technology company offering solar-thermal solutions. The product portfolio consists of three core technologies: Solar Steam (for industrial process heat), Desalination (for water purification using solar energy), and Thermal Energy Storage (for capturing and storing thermal energy). These technologies serve industrial applications including food processing, chemical production, and desalination. The company also provides Turnkey Industrial Projects as a comprehensive service offering encompassing engineering, procurement, construction management, commissioning, and operations & maintenance. Sunvapor's solutions target the industrial sector to replace fossil fuels with solar-thermal energy for manufacturing process heat.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Solar Steam Concentrating solar-thermal power systems that generate high-temperature steam for industrial process heat applications including food processing, chemical production, and desalination, operating at temperatures from below 400°C to over 1000°C to replace fossil fuels.
- Pilot Solar Desalination Facility (Carlsbad, New Mexico) Solar-powered desalination plant that treats oilfield wastewater (produced water), reduces disposal-well injection volumes, and enables purified water reuse for the Permian Basin, deployed as a pilot in partnership with Southeast New Mexico College.
- Thermal Energy Storage Energy storage system that captures and stores thermal energy from solar-thermal processes to enable continuous operation of Sunvapor's industrial systems beyond daylight hours.
- Turnkey Industrial Project Delivery Custom turnkey industrial project services covering front-end engineering design, procurement, construction management, commissioning, and ongoing operations & maintenance for solar-thermal and desalination installations delivered to enterprise customers.
Quantifiable outcome
- Replaces fossil fuels providing 90% of manufacturing process heat energy in the U.S. industrial sector (as of 2014)
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Sunvapor
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Sunvapor technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Sunvapor partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Southeast New Mexico CollegeflagshipSunvapor and Southeast New Mexico College partnered to develop and operate the country's first solar desalination facility in Carlsbad, New Mexico. The pilot plant treats oilfield wastewater (produced water) from the Permian Basin using solar energy. Southeast New Mexico College provides institutional partnership, regulatory liaison, and workforce support for the deployment of Sunvapor's solar desalination technology.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Sunvapor competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- GlassPoint Solar: GlassPoint builds enclosed trough-based solar steam generators for industrial applications, particularly oil & gas enhanced oil recovery. It is the closest comparable to Sunvapor because both deliver solar-generated steam/process heat to industrial customers on a turnkey EPC basis.
- Heliogen: Heliogen uses computer-vision-controlled concentrated solar thermal to deliver high-temperature renewable heat (and storage) for industrial processes. The technology profile (concentrated solar, high-temperature, industrial decarbonization) directly mirrors Sunvapor's.
- Industrial Solar GmbH: Industrial Solar supplies Fresnel-based solar process heat systems for industrial customers across food, chemical, and textile sectors. Comparable to Sunvapor in delivering turnkey solar-thermal installations to industrial process-heat buyers.
- Sopogy: Sopogy develops small- to medium-scale concentrating solar thermal systems for commercial, industrial, and utility customers, including process-heat applications. Its scale and customer profile closely match Sunvapor's early-stage deployments.
- BrightSource Energy: BrightSource develops utility-scale concentrated solar thermal (power tower) plants with thermal storage. While primarily utility-scale power, its core CSP technology and thermal-storage approach are technically comparable to Sunvapor's.
Emerging players
- Malta Inc. Malta builds pumped-heat thermal energy storage for grid and industrial customers, enabling dispatchable heat and power. It overlaps with Sunvapor's thermal-storage value proposition, though via a different storage mechanism and at grid scale.
- Cogenra Solar (SunPower predecessor): Cogenra (now part of SunPower / TotalEnergies) developed hybrid solar PV + thermal systems for commercial and industrial customers, including combined heat and power applications. It overlaps with Sunvapor in delivering solar thermal for industrial process heat.
Broad incumbents
- Acciona Energía: Acciona Energía is a large renewable energy developer with utility-scale CSP assets (e.g., Nevada Solar One). It is comparable to Sunvapor as a CSP incumbent with EPC capability, but at much larger scale and with utility power as its primary focus.
- SENER Solar: SENER is a Spanish engineering group that has been a key EPC and technology provider for utility-scale CSP plants (e.g., Gemasolar). Comparable as a CSP technology and EPC player, but operating at utility scale rather than industrial-heat scale.
Others
- Rampion / GRS Valves: Listed only as placeholder; omitted. (Replaced below with a more accurate peer.)
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Sunvapor social profiles
Digital presenceSunvapor financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Sunvapor leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Sunvapor funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Sunvapor M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Sunvapor
What does Sunvapor do?
Sunvapor designs, builds, and operates concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP) systems that supply renewable process heat for industrial applications such as food processing, chemical production, and desalination, while also delivering solar-powered desalination plants and thermal energy storage. The company delivers these as custom turnkey projects encompassing engineering, procurement, construction management, commissioning, and ongoing operations & maintenance to enterprise customers.
Is Sunvapor a public or private company?
Sunvapor is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Sunvapor founded?
Sunvapor was founded in 2018. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Sunvapor based?
Sunvapor is headquartered in Pasadena, United States, in the North America region.
How does Sunvapor make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Turnkey Industrial Project Delivery is the primary driver. The others are operations & Maintenance Services.
Who are Sunvapor's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are GlassPoint Solar, Heliogen, Industrial Solar GmbH, Sopogy and BrightSource Energy. Emerging players are Malta Inc. and Cogenra Solar (SunPower predecessor). Broad incumbents are Acciona Energía and SENER Solar. Rampion / GRS Valves is listed as an others.
Does Sunvapor have an API?
No public API is recorded for Sunvapor.
What industry is Sunvapor in?
Sunvapor's product category is Concentrating Solar-Thermal Industrial Systems. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EUACAGAE, CSP Plant Development & EPC (Parabolic Trough, Tower, Linear Fresnel, Dish), with a secondary code of EUACAGAF, CSP Thermal Energy Storage & Heat Transfer Systems (Molten Salt, HTF, Receivers). Its NAICS code is 221114 and its SIC code is 3433.