Battery storage startup Field has secured a pipeline of 160MW of battery storage sites in the UK, and begun construction of its first 20MW site in Oldham, England.
The company – originally called Virmati Energy – was launched at the beginning of 2021 by Amit Gudka, co-founder of independent renewable energy retailer Bulb, which has more than 1.7 million UK customers. In its first six months Field has raised £10 million (US$13.76 million) in pre-seed capital and Series A funding, and is set to run Series B in September.
It will finance, build and operate the sites within its pipeline itself, utilising an agile operation strategy that has lower overheads according to Field, as well as a much more comprehensive view of the energy market than traditional infrastructure businesses.
Oldham is due to go live in April 2022, with its next site – Field Gerrards Cross – to follow shortly after in August of next year. Field is planning to get its current 160MW pipeline in operation by Q1 2023, and expand this to 1.3GW by 2024. It is already in advanced discussions for a further 330MW of battery storage projects.
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“Tackling the climate crisis requires belief that large systemic changes can be made, with the determination to make them happen fast,” said Gudka, founder of Field. “The pipeline and the funding we’ve secured over the last few months, with the team we’ve built, shows it’s possible to move fast to make the changes we need to reach net zero.”
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