Battery maker ESS raises USD 30m to automate manufacturing process

US long-duration flow energy storage systems developer ESS Inc announced today it has raised USD 30 million (EUR 27m) in a Series C funding round led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures and SoftBank Group’s SB Energy.

In addition to the lead investors, the round was also joined by Evergy Ventures and PTT Global Chemical (GC), as well as earlier backers BASF Venture Capital, Cycle Capital Management, Presidio Partners Investment Management, IPM Group and Pangaea Ventures.

ESS develops and manufactures the long-duration Energy Warehouse (EW) all-iron flow battery for commercial and utility-scale energy storage applications. The newly secured funds will allow the company to expand and automate the manufacturing process for its second-generation battery. ESS is aiming at a ramp-up to 1-GWh annual production capacity at its factory in Wilsonville, Oregon, it noted.

Craig Evans, founder and CEO of ESS, commented that this latest investment in the company allows it to scale up manufacturing to meet its order pipeline, while also continuing to pursue global deployment opportunities.

“This investment reflects our belief that ESS Inc.’s technology will be a clean, safe and low cost storage solution that can be deployed at scale to complement renewable energy resources,” said Rich Hossfeld, senior vice president of SB Energy.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.901)

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!