Forget EVs – stationary batteries are increasingly popular and invested in in the US these days.
Startup Lunar Energy is the latest example. The six-year-old company, which makes batteries for homeowners in California, Georgia and Washington, said Wednesday it has completed two major rounds of financing. The startup shared a previously unannounced $130 million Series C and $102 million Series D. The Series C was led by Activate Capital, while the Series D was led by B Capital and Prelude Ventures.
The startup plans to use the funds to expand production to 20,000 units by the end of this year, before increasing to 100,000 by the end of 2028. In total, Lunar has raised more than $500 million from investors.
Stationary storage has become a flashpoint for battery makers, who have been subject to political whipping after the Trump administration and the GOP-controlled Congress gutted large parts of an inflation-reducing law that incentivized companies to make batteries in the U.S. to supply the auto industry.
As the grid strains under the weight of an increasingly electrified economy—along with booming data center demand—grid-connected batteries have become one of the most versatile ways to increase grid resilience.
Lunar can use its fleet of batteries, which come in 15-kilowatt-hour and 30-kilowatt-hour modules, to supply juice to the grid when needed. Its virtual power plant (VPP) software can also control EV chargers and equipment, allowing it to supply electrons while dampening demand.
Such VPPs are expected to be able to replace costly and polluting peak power plants within years.
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Competition in the space has been intensifying recently. In October, Base Power raised $1 billion, less than six months after it raised $200 million for its battery-based residential VPP. Tesla also runs its own Powerwall-based VPP.
Outside the residential environment, Tesla’s storage business is growing by leaps and bounds, while former Tesla CEO JB Straubel’s startup Redwood Materials has launched its own energy storage division. Even Ford wants in on the action.
Batteries have transformed from bit players to major assets on the grid just five years ago. Their modularity makes them quick to build and easy to deploy, and while they are still expensive compared to some fossil fuel energy sources, prices are coming down fast. No wonder investors are piling in.