EnerVenue, a startup developing an alternative to lithium-ion batteries for long-term renewable energy storage, is raising $515 million in new capital, according to an SEC filing seen by TechCrunch.
The company is in the process of building a gigawatt plant in Kentucky to produce nickel-hydrogen batteries, which is estimated to cost $264 million. The company most recently raised $125 million in a Series A round that closed in late 2021. Given the scale of the plant's investment, it is likely new funds will be used for the project.
So far, EnerVenue has raised $308 million of its $515 million goal, the filing shows. A company spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment at the time of publication.
The startup's nickel-hydrogen technology is based on batteries originally used to store power on satellites such as the International Space Station and the Hubble Space Telescope. In many ways, nickel-hydrogen is the ideal battery type for spacecraft. Its chemistry allows it to withstand sub-zero cold and scorching heat and does not lose much of its capacity over time. That means it can last as long as the spacecraft is expected to last. .
However, nickel-hydrogen has historically been expensive. For space-based applications, this is not much of an issue. Costs are often far lower on the priority list. But on Earth, cost tends to be the most important thing.
But the equation changed when Yi Cui, a professor at Stanford University and president of EnerVenue, tweaked the chemistry to remove the valuable platinum. Cui expects that once the batteries are produced at scale, with adjustments and other adjustments, they will help bring the cost per kilowatt-hour down to less than $80.
The battery itself resembles an elongated scuba tank more than an AA cell. This is because the battery must contain gaseous hydrogen, which is released when it is charged.
Nickel-hydrogen batteries are not as energy dense as lithium-ion. That means it won't be competing for electric vehicle space just yet. However, because these batteries can withstand a wide range of temperatures, they do not require expensive cooling equipment like lithium-ion cells. We are confident EnerVenue will attract the attention of utilities looking for ways to store surplus renewable power due to its compact deployment and low maintenance requirements. Last year, the startup said it had received commitments worth 7 gigawatt hours from customers.
The size of the new round reflects the challenges many hardware-based climate technology companies face as they try to scale to meet commercial demand. Building the first factory is often expensive, but the risks involved make people reluctant to provide credit needed to fund infrastructure. As a result, startups often need to raise large sums of money from venture firms, trading equity for the funds needed to build large-scale projects. Finding companies willing to take risks is an obstacle in itself.
EnerVenue appears to have overcome this hurdle, at least partially, by finding enough investors for a sizable Series B. The next challenge is to complete the factory, scale up production, and get the new batteries out into the world.
