JTEC Energy, Inc. announced it closed on an initial seed fundraising round. "We set an initial goal of raising $1 million," said JTEC CEO Mike McQuary. "Once we put some feelers out, we quickly realized that there was a very high interest in the JTEC technology from both the scientific and business communities. We closed the round at over $1.5 million."

JTEC Energy was formed this year to productize and commercialize the JTEC device, an invention by Dr. Lonnie Johnson that converts waste heat into electricity more efficiently than any machine in history. In addition to waste heat conversion it can operate on primary heat sources such as solar.

JTEC Energy plans to use the seed funding to hire additional scientists and engineers in order to accelerate the development of the JTEC. "We are moving from laboratory proof-of-concept to developing physical demonstration models now," explained McQuary. "Once this is complete, we expect to raise a significant Series A round that will allow us to engage business partners and make initial commercial prototypes. While we are happy to have the cash on hand, the validation that we received from industry leaders during this process is even more exciting to our team. Our investors include former Southern Company and General Electric executives who recognize the groundbreaking science and major commercial potential of this technology."

About JTEC Energy

Former NASA scientist and Super Soaker inventor Dr. Lonnie Johnson invented the Johnson Thermo-Electrochemical Converter (JTEC), a device that transforms heat into energy more efficiently than any device operating today. JTEC Energy was spun off from Johnson Research & Development to fully develop and commercialize the JTEC device. With over 40 patents, JTEC is applicable for both power generation and refrigeration. For more information about JTEC Energy, visit the company website at JTECEnergy.com.