Advanced battery firm Gridtential has completed an $11 million Series B equity raise to boost “commercial opportunities” for its Silicon Joule battery technology in hybrid vehicle, grid storage and other global markets.
Gridtential said the equity raise was led by US-based venture capital firm, 1955 Capital, with leading battery businesses.
The US start-up said it will use the new capital to expand development and licensing deals to meet growing global demand for advanced energy storage in the automotive, backup power, grid solutions, and mobility industries.
Gridtential is pushing its Silicon Joule battery technology to become the 48V industry standard by making lead batteries cheaper and boosting performance.
The founder and managing partner of 1955 Capital, Andrew Chung, praised the technology, saying it was “rare to see so many leading battery producers cooperatively invest in a single company, which underscores the tremendous potential the industry sees in Silicon Joule in the US, China and beyond.”
Chung will join Gridtential’s board to “help propel the company into the rapidly-expanding hybrid vehicle and electricity storage markets”. He said: “Gridtential’s breakthrough approach to energy storage addresses the booming demand for vehicle electrification and grid-scale storage in China and other emerging markets, which fits our investment model here at 1955.”
“Gridtential could achieve exceptional, market-leading cost and performance with a capital-efficient commercialisation path by effectively leveraging existing manufacturing infrastructure and a well-established materials supply chain,” Chung added.
At the start of this year, Gridtential announced it had gained $6m of investment to support further cost reductions and scaling of manufacturing processes to deliver 12-48V batteries.
The latest equity raise has also involved battery firms East Penn Manufacturing, Crown Battery Manufacturing, Leoch International and Power-Sonic Inc., and existing Gridtential investors The Roda Group and Gridtential’s chairman, Ray Kubis.
In April, US firm Advanced Battery Concepts (ABC) received an injection of funds from the president and owner of Crown Battery, Hal Hawk.
Hawk said then that ABC showed it had “achieved industry validation for its bipolar lead battery designs and manufacturing processes” thanks to licensing agreements including one with Johnson Controls, the world’s largest lead battery producer.
In May, ABC won a third licence— with Trojan Battery— for its bipolar ‘GreenSeal’ lead-acid technology. Trojan is among global leaders in deep cycle lead–acid batteries, essentially applied in traction roles, such as forklift trucks and golf cars.
