Backed by a Department of Energy award and a proven track record scaling clean energy companies, Lesure will lead the Vermont startup through its seed funding round and first commercial deployments.

WHITE RIVER JUNCTION, Vt., March 6, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Durion, Inc., a Vermont-based cleantech company developing proprietary long-duration thermal energy storage and distributed-scale 24/7 clean energy systems, announced the appointment of Paul Lesure as Chief Executive Officer. Lesure will lead Durion through its current seed funding round and into initial commercial deployment.

The appointment comes as Durion advances work supported by a U.S. Department of Energy award. The project is focused on deploying Durion's HeatTrap™ thermal energy storage system in a commercial deployment providing 24/7 clean heat at a site in Vermont that's enrolled in Green Mountain Power's Flexible Load Management pilot program. It also includes a detailed design package for a full-scale SunTrap™ system — Durion's integrated, fully dispatchable 24/7 clean power platform. The HeatTrap and SunTrap technologies were originally developed under a successful U.S. Department of Energy Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program by parent company Norwich Technologies, which brings over a decade of experience in clean local energy system design and deployment.

Durion's technology addresses two of the largest clean energy challenges facing commercial and industrial customers: 24/7 reliable clean electricity and industrial process heat. SunTrap targets behind-the-meter applications for commercial, industrial, municipal, university, school, and hospital (MUSH) customers, providing resilience against grid outages and fossil fuel price volatility.

HeatTrap stores energy as pressurized hot water, delivering long-duration storage that is simple, safe, and cost-effective. HeatTrap can be paired with electric heat (off-peak or intermittent source), high-temperature heat pumps, or solar thermal. Paired with solar sources, the result is SunTrap: a turnkey distributed-scale system capable of providing reliable 24/7 electricity and heat to commercial and institutional customers through long-term power and heat purchase agreements at utility-competitive rates.

"With the increased energy demands of tech, AI, and manufacturing, the energy transition isn't coming — it's here, and it affects all of us," said Lesure. "Businesses need reliable, affordable energy for resilience, and they need a partner they can trust to help them navigate it. Durion delivers that: proven technology, a U.S. Department of Energy-validated development pathway, and an approach built on education and trust. At every stage of my career, the lesson has been the same: focus on educating your customer and building genuine trust, and the results follow. I'm here to help businesses understand their energy systems and take the next step."

Lesure's career has been defined by an education-first, customer-focused approach to growth. As President and Partner of Green Mountain Solar, he co-built the company into one of Vermont's top solar installers and winner of the 2024 Best of Business Award, before a successful private equity acquisition in 2023. He simultaneously led Granite State Solar in New Hampshire to similar recognition. Earlier, he rose to National Sales Manager at AllEarth Renewables within his first year in the solar industry. He has served as Board Chair of Renewable Energy Vermont since 2023.

"Paul brings the combination of skills Durion needs at this stage to excel," said Troy McBride, Co-founder and President of Durion. "We have a technology that works and U.S. Department of Energy backing to prove it at commercial scale. What we need is a leader who knows how to build companies, earn customer trust, and drive real-world deployment. Paul has done that repeatedly."

Media Contact

Paul Lesure, Durion, 1 802-734-3360, paul@durion.com, https://durion.com/

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SOURCE Durion