NOC Energy has announced a hybrid electric heating system that can be retrofitted onto existing cement and glass plants, allowing operators to switch between electricity and fossil fuels based on price and demand. The cement and glass industries traditionally rely on high‑temperature combustion of fossil fuels, making them vulnerable to fuel price swings and supply disruptions. Hybridization offers a way to reduce that dependence while keeping production flexible. In a pilot that ran for 15,000 hours, the system uses induction coils wrapped around steel spheres inside 2.5‑meter (≈8‑foot) ceramic containers. The coils stay at room temperature, while the spheres reach 1,200 °C, with a target of 1,500 °C. At 1,000 °C, conventional resistive heaters last about 12 months, but at 1,200 °C they drop to three months, according to Ceballos. The startup’s $2.7 million seed round was led by 360 Capital with participation from SOSV and Desai VC . Ceballos said, "We hybridize industrial processes," noting that most companies want to electrify without fully abandoning fossil fuels. He added that the hybrid approach lets operators store heat for hours, using cheap wind or solar electricity and drawing on stored heat when prices spike. "Being hybrid allows them to derisk the future," he said, and that "Given the geopolitical problems today, it’s very attractive." With demonstration units slated to go live in France this May, NOC Energy is positioning its technology as a low‑risk, cost‑effective path for cement and glass producers to hedge against fuel volatility while advancing toward a cleaner energy mix.