David T. Danielson

Partner, Breakthrough Energy Ventures; Former US Assistant Secretary of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy; Co-Founder, ARPA-E

📍 Stanford, California, United States🔄 Updated September 2026💼 15 investments📅 8 years investing🗓 Last invested May 2025
VC🌍 United States
15
Total investments
7
Early stage
2
Mid stage
2
Late stage
8y
Years active

Portfolio

15 investments · sorted by recency
All investments
Early stage
Mid stage
Late stage
Investor
May 2025
Energy demand across industries is accelerating at an unprecedented pace, and the need for more deployable, efficient, resilient, and scalable infrastructure has never been more critical. The sustainable energy transition alone demands a 3-5x increase in global electricity generation and consumption. Heron Power is building cutting-edge power electronics for the 21st-century grid. We aim to debottleneck the growth of electricity generation and consumption with scalable, innovative, and less costly hardware solutions, accelerating the electrification of everything.
Investor
Sep 2024
Mariana Minerals is a software-first, vertically integrated minerals company focused on supplying the minerals critical to modern energy, AI, and defense technologies.
Investor
Apr 2024
Molten is commercializing breakthrough technology to produce the lowest-cost, cleanest hydrogen to decarbonize heavy industrial sectors such as steel, fertilizer, fuels, and plastics. Were Hiring! https://jobs.lever.co/moltenindustries
Investor
Apr 2023
www.m2x.energy
Investor
Feb 2021
Equilibrium Energy is building the operating system for tomorrow’s power company. Our AI-native PowerOS platform, powered by Connective Intelligence™, breaks down data and system silos to unlock true portfolio optimization and integrated, enterprise-wide command. More than a technology provider, we stand side by side with power leaders to help accelerate innovation and amplify your team.
Investor
Jan 2021
Electric Hydrogen manufactures, delivers and commissions the world’s most powerful electrolyzers to make clean hydrogen projects economically viable today. The company’s complete HYPRPlant includes all system components required to turn water and electricity into the lowest cost clean hydrogen. Electric Hydrogen has a team of more than 300 people in the United States and Europe.
Investor
Jul 2020
Mill makes it easy to prevent food waste at home with an innovative new kitchen experience and pathways that keep food out of landfills.
Investor
Jun 2020
Electra is decarbonizing iron and steelmaking to eliminate 3.7 gigatons or 10% of global carbon dioxide emissions. Leveraging proven industrial-scale electrochemical and hydrometallurgical processes, and backed by leading sustainability-focused venture capitalists, our team is developing lower cost, scalable solutions utilizing renewable energy to forge a cleaner, greener future for the trillion-dollar steel industry. With a uniquely collaborative culture, endless passion for developing disruptive technologies, and the opportunity to revolutionize carbon-intensive manufacturing industries, careers at Electra offer challenge, reward, and the chance to bring to market solutions that dramatically improve the health of the planet.
Investor
Apr 2020
Redwood Materials is building the U.S. stockpile of critical materials and deploying large-scale energy storage. Founded by JB Straubel, the company produces lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper, and cathode active material at scale in the U.S., manufactures key components for advanced batteries, and deploys energy storage systems that power data centers and the nation’s grid. Redwood is expanding domestic capacity for next-generation energy storage and strengthening U.S. energy dominance.
Investor
Feb 2020
Lilac Solutions is a lithium extraction company based in Oakland, California.
Investor
Jan 2019
Boston Metal is delivering a future where primary steel production is free of carbon emissions. Our Molten Oxide Electrolysis (MOE) technology provides the metals industry with a more efficient, lower cost, and greener solution for the production of a range of metals and alloys from a wide variety of feedstocks.
Investor
Sep 2018
QuantumScape is on a mission to transform energy storage with solid-state lithium-metal battery technology. The company’s next-generation batteries are designed to enable greater energy density, faster charging and enhanced safety to support the transition away from legacy energy sources toward a lower-carbon future.
Investor
May 2018
Finding the materials of the future with AI and HI: KoBold Metals discovers the materials critical for the electric vehicle and renewable energy revolutions.
early stageMining
Investor
Mar 2018
Fervo Energy provides 24/7 carbon-free energy through the development of next-generation geothermal power. Fervo’s mission is to leverage innovation in geoscience to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy. Geothermal has a major role to play in the future electric grid, and Fervo’s key advancements in drilling and subsurface analytics bring a full suite of modern technology to make geothermal cost competitive. For more information, please visit www.fervoenergy.com.
Investor
Feb 2018
Form Energy is an American company driving innovation in energy technology and manufacturing. Our cost-effective, multi-day energy storage technology is designed to ensure a clean, secure, and reliable electric grid, even during prolonged periods of stress. We are assembling a team of talented and driven individuals to work at our facilities in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and California. If you’re eager to make a meaningful impact through your work, while rapidly accelerating your career, take a look at our open roles! Learn more and apply here: www.formenergy.com/careers
early stageManufacturing
Experience · 19 entries
All (19)
Investments (15)
Founder (1)
2025
Investor
May 2025
Energy demand across industries is accelerating at an unprecedented pace, and the need for more deployable, efficient, resilient, and scalable infrastructure has never been more critical. The sustainable energy transition alone demands a 3-5x increase in global electricity generation and consumption. Heron Power is building cutting-edge power electronics for the 21st-century grid. We aim to debottleneck the growth of electricity generation and consumption with scalable, innovative, and less costly hardware solutions, accelerating the electrification of everything.
2024
Investor
Sep 2024
Mariana Minerals is a software-first, vertically integrated minerals company focused on supplying the minerals critical to modern energy, AI, and defense technologies.
Investor
Apr 2024
Molten is commercializing breakthrough technology to produce the lowest-cost, cleanest hydrogen to decarbonize heavy industrial sectors such as steel, fertilizer, fuels, and plastics. Were Hiring! https://jobs.lever.co/moltenindustries
2023
Investor
Apr 2023
www.m2x.energy
2021
Investor
Feb 2021
Equilibrium Energy is building the operating system for tomorrow’s power company. Our AI-native PowerOS platform, powered by Connective Intelligence™, breaks down data and system silos to unlock true portfolio optimization and integrated, enterprise-wide command. More than a technology provider, we stand side by side with power leaders to help accelerate innovation and amplify your team.
Show all 19 entries ↓
Investment activity
2018–2025 · 15 investments
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