US energy storage company EnerVenue has started production at a 250MWh manufacturing line for its aqueous metal cells in Changzhou, China.
The 20,000m² facility in Jiangsu province was completed just 25 weeks after construction began in April. Production is due to ramp up through November, with the automated line designed to manufacture approximately 300 fourth-generation cells per day.
EnerVenue plans to increase annual capacity to 1GWh during 2027 and reach several gigawatt-hours by 2028. Space has been allocated in the building for a second production phase of a similar size.
The company describes the facility as the first high-volume production line for its proprietary aqueous metal cell technology.
EnerVenue’s cells use nickel-hydrogen chemistry and a water-based, non-flammable electrolyte. The company says they contain no lithium or rare-earth elements and are designed to complete 30,000 charge-discharge cycles over a 30-year service life.
Nickel-hydrogen batteries have previously been used in spacecraft including the Hubble Space Telescope and International Space Station. EnerVenue has adapted the chemistry and manufacturing process for terrestrial stationary energy storage.
Henning Rath, chief executive officer of EnerVenue, said the start of production marked the company’s move into large-scale manufacturing.
“This is the only facility in the world making this high-performing, water-based nickel battery,” he said. “What we prove here, we can build anywhere.”
The Changzhou line was designed specifically for AMC chemistry
EnerVenue said all equipment on the production line was designed specifically for the cell. Automated guided vehicles move products between stations, while machine-vision systems monitor electrode-stack assembly.
Each cell undergoes 41 quality checks at 11 testing and measurement stations, including checks for weld integrity, leaks and electrical performance. Completed 150kWh battery racks are also tested at the site before shipment.
The cells are used across four EnerVenue products: the 30kWh Energy Core, 108kWh Energy Cube, 150kWh Energy Rack and containerised Energy Prism, available in configurations from 600kWh to 1MWh.
The Changzhou line will supply cells for EnerVenue’s recently announced 11MWh order from an unnamed oil and gas producer in northern China. The order covers 26 Energy Prism containers, with the first three scheduled to ship in December 2026 and the remainder in March 2027.
A 150kWh demonstration system using the company’s fourth-generation cells has been operating at an electric-bus charging site in Jintan, Changzhou, since November 2025. The installation combines onsite renewable generation with battery storage.
EnerVenue also signed memoranda of understanding at the factory opening with prospective partners including Towngas, Shanghai Electric, Guangzhou Development Group and Desert Technologies.
The manufacturing expansion was supported by a $300 million Series B funding extension led by Full Vision Capital in March 2026.
