California-based energy storage technology developer Gridtential announced that it has closed US$11 million in financing led by 1955 Capital, with assistance from East Penn Manufacturing, Crown Battery Manufacturing, Leoch International and Power-Sonic Inc., as well as an existing investor in The Roda Group.
With the rechargeable battery sector expected to surpass US$100 billion by 2025, Gridtential will use this new funding to grow growing global demand for advanced energy storage in the automotive, backup power, grid solutions, and mobility industries.
Due to this financing, Andrew Chung, 1955 Capital founder and managing partner, will now join Gridtential's board of directors.
Chung noted: “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 commercialization path by effectively leveraging existing manufacturing infrastructure and a well-established materials supply chain. It is rare to see so many leading battery producers cooperatively invest in a single company, which underscores the tremendous potential the industry sees in the Gridtential's Silicon Joule battery technology in the U.S., China, and beyond.”
Recently, Gridtential has developed a new battery architecture — Silicon Joule Technology — that the company claims mixes the benefits of lead-acid batteries (low costs, safety, recyclability) with the benefits of lithium-ion batteries (fast charging/discharging, high depth of discharge, and long cycle life).
Ray Kubis, Gridtential chairman, said: “We've made excellent progress with our licensing partners, and are in a strong position to accelerate Silicon Joule commercialization efforts to enable them to meet the mounting industry demand for 48V systems in addition to other diverse industrial applications, including back-up power and grid storage.
“It is also encouraging to see European automakers accelerate their push to 48V hybrid solutions in a concerted effort to improve fuel economy and reduce emissions in contrast to the previous focus on conventional diesel-based powertrains.”