EnerVenue, a startup developing an alternative to lithium-ion batteries for long-term storage of renewable energy, has raised $515 million in new capital, according to an SEC filing reviewed by TechCrunch.
The company is building a gigawatt-scale factory in Kentucky to produce nickel-metal hydride batteries, estimated to cost $264 million. The company recently raised $125 million in a Series A round that closed in late 2021. Given the scale of the investment in the factory, the new funding will likely be dedicated to this project.
EnerVenue has raised $308 million to date of a $515 million target, according to filings. A company spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment at the time of publication.
The startup's nickel-metal hydride technology is based on batteries originally used to store power on satellites like the International Space Station and the Hubble Space Telescope. In many ways, nickel-metal hydride is ideal for spacecraft: Its chemistry can withstand extreme cold and heat, and it doesn't lose much capacity over time, so it should last the expected lifespan of a spacecraft.
However, nickel-metal hydride has historically been expensive. For space applications, cost is not as much of an issue because it is often far down the list of priorities. But on Earth, cost tends to be a top priority.
That all changed when Stanford professor and EnerVenue chairman Yi Cui tweaked the chemistry to remove expensive platinum, a tweak that he hopes will bring the cost per kilowatt-hour down to under $80 when the batteries are mass-produced.
The battery itself resembles more like an elongated scuba tank than an AA battery, because the hydrogen gas that is released when the battery is charged must be held within the battery.
Nickel-metal hydride batteries aren't as energy dense as lithium-ion, so they don't compete for space in electric vehicles. But the batteries can withstand a wide temperature range and don't require the expensive cooling that lithium-ion batteries do. EnerVenue hopes that the compact layout and low maintenance will attract the attention of utilities looking for ways to store excess renewable power. Last year, the startup announced it had secured a contract from a customer for 7 gigawatt hours.
The size of the new funding round reflects the challenges many hardware-based climate tech companies face as they try to scale up to meet commercial demand. Building a first factory is often expensive, and infrastructure funds are hesitant to provide the necessary loans given the risks involved. As a result, startups must raise large amounts of capital from venture capitalists, exchanging equity for the capital needed to build large-scale projects. Finding companies willing to take on the risk is a hurdle in itself.
EnerVenue appears to have at least partially overcome that hurdle, having secured enough investors to raise a Series B. The next step is to complete the factory, scale up production, and get its novel battery out into the world.