Michigan battery firm ONE raises USD 300m

Michigan-based energy storage technology company Our Next Energy Inc (ONE) on Wednesday said it has raised USD 300 million (EUR 275m) in a Series B round, valuing the company at USD 1.2 billion post-money.

Together with USD 220 million in grants from the state of Michigan, the capital will fund ONE's first lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cell factory. The project, called ONE Circle and located in Van Buren Township in Michigan, completed its exterior construction in December 2022.

The company aims to launch the factory in 2024. Chief executive and founder Mujeeb Ijaz said ONE is transitioning from a venture capital-funded start-up to a manufacturer supported by growth capital in an “environment where urgent demand for US based cell manufacturing is on the rise, supported by the Inflation Reduction Act.”

The funding round was led by venture capital firm Fifth Wall and investment manager Franklin Templeton. It was supported by ONE's Series A investors and new growth equity investors Temasek, Riverstone Holdings and Coatue, as well as two new venture equity investors. Two undisclosed strategic investors also took part -- a manufacturer of electric vehicle (EV) technology solutions and a renewable energy provider.

The company’s USD-25-million Series A capital raise in 2021 was led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures and involved Assembly Ventures, BMW i Ventures, Flex (NASDAQ:FLEX) and Volta Energy Technologies.

As part of the Series B, ONE closed a USD-62.5-million convertible note in January 2022 that was led by BMW i Ventures and joined by the Series A investors plus Coatue.

The company says it has signed 10 customer agreements totaling 36 GWh over the next five years.

(USD 1 = EUR 0.918)

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